Unbreakable
by Crystal Cove
Summary: [COMPLETE] Sequel to Amnesia. Just because Harry doesn't trust Sirius's new girlfriend, everybody thinks that he's just jealous. What's worse? She could be the end to Sirius and Harry's relationship. No slash.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** Sadly, I don't own any of the Harry Potter series. They belong all to J.K. Rowling

**Summary:** Just because Harry finds that he doesn't trust Sirius's new girlfriend, everybody expects that he's just jealous. What's worse? His girlfriend could be the end to Sirius and Harry's relationship. No slash, sequel to Amnesia.

**Author Notes:** Sorry for the lousy summary. Still, give it a chance! Read and review!

——

Chapter 1

Sirius had been acting odd lately, Harry found as he watched Sirius eat a bowl of cereal happily. It was the summer before Harry's sixth year, and it was pretty obvious that Sirius had been acting oddly. More happier and cheerful, for starters.

"The food's not going to get up and run," Harry reminded Sirius in amusement as Sirius practically shoved the bowl down his throat. Sirius stopped his eating to look up at Harry in confusion.

"Huh?"

"The food," Harry replied, motioning to the bowl that Sirius had in his hands. "I think you can slow down eating. It's not going to get up and run. You _can _take your time, Siri."

"Well… I'm going out soon," Sirius explained, setting the bowl down. "I have to hurry. Didn't I tell you yesterday that I had to go out today for lunch?"

Harry frowned at Sirius. "No, you didn't say anything. And where are you going, without me?"

"It's…" Sirius trailed off, making weird movement with his arms. "Y'know… just out for lunch—"

"Without me," Harry butt in. That was the third time this week. Where had he been going all of a sudden? Ever since Isabella had invited Sirius, Harry and Remus over for a barbeque along with a couple of her friends, he had been acting weird. A day after they had went to Isabella and Julian's housethe weirdness hadall started.

"Hey, listen," Sirius started gently. "It's only for lunch. I just have to meet somebody there. After I come back we'll talk about it, okay, kiddo?"

Harry sighed and nodded his head. "Yeah… OK, sure."

Sirius smiled and stood up, ruffling Harry's hair affectionately before going up to his room to get ready, just as a sleepy Remus Lupin joined Harry in the kitchen.

"Where's Sirius going in such a hurry?" he asked.

"Out," Harry replied, hesitantly looking at Remus. "Hey, Moony, do you know where Padfoot is going every time he goes out without me? He just says that he has to meet somebody, but he never says who."

Remus got an uncomfortable look on his face as he slowly sat down in Sirius's chair. "What do you mean?"

Harry shot Remus a look. "You know very well what I mean. He's going out with somebody and he's not telling me who, and I think I have a right to know who he's going out with!"

Remus tried to give Harry a gentle look. "Maybe he's just not ready to tell you that yet. I'm sure he will, though. When he's ready."

"Ready?" Harry repeated, his voice getting louder. Then his whole body let out a sigh, and he cradled his head in his hands. "You know what? It doesn't matter anymore. Sirius can go out with whoever he wants. Heck—he can even go out with a guy if he wants to! I don't care anymore."

Harry abruptly stood up his chair and loudly made his way to his room.

"You sound like a herd of elephants," Sirius joked, stepping out of his room and holding clothing in both hands. Harry just glared at him. "OK Harry, I need your advice: What color, blue or black? Blue to match my eyes or black to bring _out _my eyes?"

Harry let out a loud groan and went into his room, slamming the door behind him.

"Moony?" Sirius called to Remus, still looking at Harry's closed door. "What did you say to Harry?"

Remus walked up to Sirius, his eyebrows raised. "What did _I _say to Harry? Nothing. It's what you _didn't _say to Harry."

Sirius looked surprised. "How did you know—?"

Remus sighed. "It's pretty obvious, Sirius. And anyway, why would you keep this from me and Harry? Especially Harry?"

"I was going to tell you two," Sirius started. "I was just looking for the right moment—"

"And the right moment wasn't sometime five or six days ago?" Remus said, but the conversation between them soon stopped as the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Remus said to Sirius. "You get ready for your date."

Remus turned around and went through the hallway to the door, opening it to reveal a brunette standing there with a sweet smile plastered onto her face.

"I'm looking for Sirius," she said with a small pout. "He was suppose to meet me for lunch an hour ago, but never showed. I just wanted to make sure he was all right."

An hour ago? It wasn't even lunch yet. It was barely even ten thirty.

"Sirius is getting changed," Remus said slowly. "Would you like to come in?"

"Oh, sure," the girl replied, stepping into the house. "It's real nice. Ah—Siri! There you are."

A weird smile was placed on Sirius's face and he stepped towards the girl. "Allyson? What are you doing here? How did you know where I lived?"

Allyson looked confused. "Humm? Oh… you told me, remember?"

Then Sirius nodded. "Right, sorry. I was just surprised to see you here. Wasn't I suppose to meet you at the diner for lunch in half an hour?"

"No," Allyson said with a shake of her head, walking forward to grab Sirius's hand. "It was an _hour _ago that you told me you'd meet me. Don't you remember? I was waiting for you to arrive but you didn't. So I came here. Anyway, let's forget it and go."

"Wait, I should talk to Harry first," Sirius said, letting go of Allyson's hand. "Before I leave."

"Harry?" Allyson frowned. "Who's that?"

Sirius frowned. "My godson. Remember? I always talk about him—"

Allyson shook her head. "Nope. You've never talked about a Harry. Let's go, Siri! I'm _impatient._"

Grabbing back onto Sirius's hand, she dragged him out the door before he could say anything or even object.

"I don't like her," Harry spoke up from his room. Remus turned to see Harry leaning on the doorframe, a frown on his lips. "I don't trust her."

"Come on," Remus said, shutting the door which Sirius forgot to close. "We should give her a chance. She seems to like Sirius, and Sirius seems to like her, so that's really all that matters."

"He didn't even tell me about her," Harry argued, walking towards Remus, looking hurt. "I don't know, Moony. When I looked at her… I got this bad feeling. I don't trust her."

"Are you maybe saying that because your hurt that Sirius didn't tell you about Allyson? Are you _making _yourself dislike her?"

"No, I'm not," Harry said, walking into the living room and sitting down on the couch. "I really don't trust her, Moony. Did you see what she was wearing? A long-sleeved shirt. In summer."

Remus looked at Harry. "So she was wearing a long-sleeved sweater. Is there rules against that, Harry?"

Harry sighed and shook his head. "No, but doesn't it seem like she may be covering something up? The Dark Mark, perhaps? Come on, Remus, don't act like you don't believe me. I know you don't trust her, either. She could be anyone."

"Harry, Allyson may not be a witch. She could just be a muggle," Remus explained, sitting next to Harry.

"I know," Harry said with a nod. "I just don't trust her. How am I suppose to tell Sirius that? I can tell her likes her, but…" Harry sighed and shook his head. "I'm going to go take a shower. Maybe when I get out Sirius'll be back and I can tell him."

Remus grinned. "Good luck."

Harry grinned back before he went to his room.

-

"Hey," Harry said after he got out of the shower. Remus was reading the newspaper at the kitchen table. "Is Siri back yet?"

Remus looked up at nodded. "He's waiting for you in the living room." Harry started to walk forward. "Except—" Harry stopped to look back.

"Except what?"

"Allyson's in there with him. He wants you to meet her."

Harry let out a low groan. "What? He wants me to _meet _her?"

Remus nodded. "I already did. She's pretty nice once you talk to her, Harry. Why not give her a chance?"

Harry turned around and walked to the living room, where Sirius and Allyson were. Sirius had his arm around Allyson's shoulder when he walked into the room, and when Sirius spotted him a bright smile flashed onto his face.

"Harry, this is Allyson," Sirius said as Harry sat in the armchair in front of them. "Allyson, this is Harry."

"Pleasure to meet you, Allyson," Harry said with a forced smile onto his face. "Sirius told me… absolutely nothing about you."

That statement caused Sirius to look at Harry warningly, but Harry ignored it.

Allyson threw Harry a sweet, sugary smile. "Oh, no. The pleasure is _all _mine."

Harry gave Allyson a smile, an awkward silence flowing throughout the room.

"I should go, Siri," Allyson said calmly, looking at Sirius with a grin. "But… I will talk to you after."

That's when Harry turned his head away as Sirius and Allyson started to kiss. But why should he just turn his head away when he could just leave the room?

"That was pretty quick," Remus said once Harry came back into the kitchen. "Did it go well?"

"No," Harry muttered, slumping into the chair in front of Remus. "I left because they started to snog." he sighed. "I'm just glad she's not staying the night." Harry shuddered, and then looked up at Remus. "… Is she?"

Remus smiled and shook his head. "Not today. But… you never know."

Harry groaned. "I can't believe Sirius is actually dating her. She seems just too… sweet. Soury sweet. _Lemony _sour. The kind of sour like when you put a lemon in your mouth, and it's so sour that your face screws up, and your mouth puckers up—"

When Harry received a look from Remus, he sighed. "I'm going up to my room now. Tell me when Allyson leaves, okay?"

Remus nodded at Harry. "Yeah, I will."

Harry turned around and went down the hall to his bedroom, making sure to avoid looking at the living room on his way by. The last thing he wanted to do was catch his godfather snogging some girl.

Harry didn't bother to close the door as he slumped down on his bed. Why couldn't things go back to the way things used to? When it was just him, Sirius and Remus? And… Matt?

Harry shook his head. Matt? Since when had he thought of Matt O'Brien? He avoided all thoughts of Matt, since every time his thoughts went to Matt, he always felt a lump in his throat.

"Harry?" Sirius said from the doorway. Harry looked up, a half-hearted smile dancing on his lips.

"Hey, Padfoot," Harry said, trying to not let anything reveal that something was wrong, but did not work that well.

"What's wrong?" Sirius asked, stepping into the room and studying Harry's face. "You don't look… normal. Something up?"

Harry shrugged. "I'm fine. You know… just thinking."

Sirius frowned, looking as concerned as ever. "Well… that's never a good thing."

Harry smiled, and then frowned. "Siri? You, ah, got—" Then Harry pointed to Sirius's face.

While Sirius scrubbed a spot by his lips with his finger, Harry shook his head. "It's all over your face."

Sirius blushed and ran to the bathroom, furiously trying to scrub the lipstick off his face with his hands along the way.

Harry glanced around his room, his eyes stopping on a picture on the wall. It didn't move like wizarding pictures did, since it wasn't a wizarding picture. Isabella took it at one of Harry's birthdays, when Matt was still alive. Gently, Harry touched the photograph with his fingertip. If only there was some way to break Sirius and Allyson up, because Harry knew that she was up to no good, but if he did break them up then he'd hurt Sirius.

And the last thing on his mind was hurting his godfather.

-

A/N: The idea just sprang on me, so I had to write it down. Hope you liked the first chapter. I wasn't expecting to put the sequel to Amnesia (this story) up so soon, but I had finished it and thought what the heck? So review so I can post the next chapter…


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Since Harry had met Allyson, which was two days ago, she was beginning to spend a lot of around the house. Which meant at every point possible, Harry had tried to avoid her. Which wasn't that difficult, since all Allyson did was try to cuddle with Sirius as much as she could.

Harry currently sat on his bed, looking out the window and watching the thin, white clouds snake across the darkening sky when he heard a sound behind him. He didn't bother to turn around and see who it was, since the voice spoke quietly.

"What's wrong, Harry?" It was Remus. "You're so quiet all of a sudden. Ever since—"

"Ever since Sirius started dating Allyson?" Harry said, looking back at Remus in distaste. "I know."

"So what's the matter?" Remus asked, concerned. He went over by Harry and sat down next to him, ready to listen to whatever Harry had to say. "Are you… jealous?"

Harry turned to look at Remus and scowled. "_Jealous? _You think that I'm jealous of _Allyson_? I'm not jealous."

"She's not that bad once you get to know her," Remus said gently. "And she does like your godfather very much, Harry. Doesn't that count as something?"

"I know she does," Harry said in a softer tone. "Something's just wrong with her. I don't trust her at all, Moony."

Remus looked at Harry in thought. "You shouldn't be explaining this to me, Harry. You should be telling this to Sirius."

Harry sighed and nodded. "I know that, Moony. I just can't seem to do it. I mean… he really likes her. And besides, what am I going to say if I do? 'Hey, Sirius, I don't like your girlfriend at all. You should leave her. What's for dinner?' "

Remus gave Harry a look. "You know just as well as I do that you're not actually going to say that." Remus then raised an eyebrow, looking at Harry quizzically. "Would you?"

Harry smiled. "Of course not, Moony. I was just trying to make a point."

"You've told me a few times how much you don't trust her. Maybe you should be telling Sirius that."

The phone rang, just as Harry was about to answer Remus. He ignored it though, since either Sirius or Allyson could get it.

"I know," Harry said, ignoring the phone as it rang again. "I just don't know how I'm suppose to tell Sirius, especially with Allyson hanging around here every day."

The phone rang for a fourth time, and Harry let out a disgruntled sigh. "I'm coming, I'm coming," he muttered as he left Remus in his room, walking down the hallway towards the phone.

When he answered it, he was relieved to hear Isabella Jessup on the other end, her voice cheery. "Hey, Harry," she greeted. "How're you today?"

"Fine, I guess," Harry replied. "Sirius's girlfriend is over, so I wouldn't say the best, but…"

Isabella tone turned serious. "Ah, yes. Allyson McGregor, correct?" Then, she resumed her cheery voice. "I was wondering if you wanted some fish. I know it doesn't sound very… well, you know, but Julian went fishing with Willow, and they caught a pretty amount of fish. We couldn't eat it all, so I thought you might want some."

"Sure," Harry agreed. "Fish sounds good for supper. Do you want me to come pick it up?" _Please say yes so I can get out of this house… _

"Actually," Isabella started, "I was thinking of coming by so I could cook it for you. Seeing as how at the barbeque, Sirius…"

Harry bit his lip as a grin appeared on his face. Ah, the barbeque… how could he forgotten that special moment? When Sirius was trying to cook steak at the barbeque Isabella hosted, only to have the barbeque explode. Luckily, nobody was hurt by the explosion, except for the steak.

After that barbeque, Harry made sure that Sirius never used the stove again.

"Yeah, I think it would be best if you cooked the fish for us," Harry said with a laugh. He heard Isabella chuckle on the other end.

"Besides, Julian's still at work and Willow and Nevaeda are visiting their grandparents, and so I have nobody to keep me company. You don't mind, do you?"

"Of course not," Harry replied. "You can come by now if you want."

"Excellent. See you soon, Harry," Isabella said before hanging up, and then Harry did the same.

"Who was that?" Sirius asked as he and Allyson passed Harry, his arm around her neck. It made Harry a bit queasy to see Allyson cling to Sirius like that, but he forced himself to.

"Mrs. Jessup," Harry replied with a smile. "She offered us some fish, so she's coming over now to cook it for us."

Sirius frowned. "I could've cooked it. I know how to cook fish."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "After what happened to the barbeque? You promised you'd never go around one of those again, that and a stove."

"What about the microwave?" Sirius asked with a grin. "You don't let me use those, either."

"No," Harry said with a shake of his head. "I'm afraid you'll cause that to explode, too."

Harry flashed Sirius another grin before going back to his room to see Remus, and waiting for Isabella to arrive.

"You have a great view," Remus said once he heard Harry enter the room. He was staring out the window at the sky.

Harry smiled and walked over to Remus. "Yeah. I especially like looking at the sky. Kinda calming."

"It usually always is," Remus said. "So who was on the phone?"

"Isabella," Harry replied. "She offered us some fish, then said she'd come over and cook it for us."

"Ah, of course," replied Remus with a grin. "After all, with the barbeque, who'd trust Sirius with those appliances again?"

Harry grinned. "Exactly what I was thinking."

——

After Isabella had arrived and cooked the fish for them, Harry was disappointed to see her leave. He'd of liked her to stay longer so they could talk, because Sirius never seemed to have the time for their talks anymore, so he and Remus usually talked.

That was one thing that had bugged Harry. Sirius spent more time with Allyson now, and every time Harry just wanted to spend time with him, he was always busy. With Allyson.

And every time he thought about it, he knew that Remus was right: he was becoming jealous. But being jealous of Allyson wasn't the reason why he didn't trust her. They were individual things. He was jealous that Allyson was taking up most of Sirius's time, and he didn't trust her. There was just a bad vibe coming off of her, and it seemed that he was the only one who noticed it.

And for the first time since Allyson and Sirius had dated, Harry was absolutely speechless to hear Sirius say that she could spend the night. In their house, with Remus and Harry in it.

All Harry could do was remain speechless, and then with great effort excuse himself from the table so he could go to his room.

_Sirius _wants _Allyson to spend the night, _Harry realized as he collapsed onto his bed. He didn't know how serious the two were until Sirius had uttered those words. Now he knew.

——

That night, Harry was relieved that Allyson didn't spend the night. He knew that beforehand though, since after Harry went to his room Remus came in and told him that Sirius had changed his mind about Allyson staying.

As Harry approached his room, he noticed that Remus had fallen asleep in his bed. _I guess our talking wearied him out, _Harry thought with a smirk.

"Hey kiddo," Sirius greeted quietly from behind Harry. Harry turned around to face him, and then realized how much he wanted to tell Sirius about how he didn't trust Allyson, that every time he looked at her he could sense that she was up to something. "Remus is asleep in your room. Wanna come in here? We can talk about everything that's bugging you."

"You want to talk about what's bugging me?" Harry blurted out after swallowing. "Ever since you started dating Allyson, you're never there when I need you. _That's _bugging me. And something else? Your _girlfriend _is bugging me. I don't trust her, Sirius, and when I tell Remus about it, he just thinks I'm _jealous_. But I'm not. I don't trust Allyson McGregor, and I don't like her either."

It wasn't the exact way Harry pictured telling Sirius of his feelings, but it was a way. A way that seemed to hurt Sirius, though.

First, a pained expression crossed his face momentarily. That was soon replaced by coldness. "I'm sorry you feel that way, Harry," he said coolly. "But _I _trust Allyson and _I _like Allyson. That's really all that matters, isn't it?"

Harry watched in surprise as Sirius retreated back into his room, closing the door behind him. Allyson McGregor couldn't be the one that came between them, could she? Because by the looks of it, it seemed to already be happening.

But Harry wouldn't let their conversation end there. He finally told Sirius how he felt, and he wasn't about to end it there.

"I'm sorry, Sirius," Harry said once he opened Sirius's door and walked in. "I didn't mean for it to come out like that. Everything just came out so wrong and… aghh…" he sighed.

"Hey, what did I ever teach you about knocking first?" Sirius replied, sounding annoyed as he sat up in bed. "And I don't think you're really sorry, Harry. You meant that, so why are you apologizing?"

"Because it came out wrong," Harry said. "But you're right, I did mean what I meant. I don't trust Allyson. She's up to something."

Sirius sighed exasperatedly, standing up to face Harry. "I don't need to discuss this with you now, Harry. Just go somewhere to sleep."

"You don't even care about what I think anymore," Harry said, feeling a lump appear in his throat. "You barely even have time for me! And then, you ask her to spend the _night _with you?"

Sirius threw his hands up in the air. "I _do _have time for you, Harry! Come on, stop making me the bad person in this story! 'N' when I asked her to spend the night? I'm sorry, it just came out, I wasn't going to actually _let _her spend the night! You know that, Harry!"

"You're _not _a bad person," Harry argued. "But you're spending more time with somebody you barely even know then with someone you've spent around eight or nine years with!"

"Exactly!" Sirius exclaimed. "Somebody I've spent _eight or nine years _with! Don't you think that's _enough _time?" Then Sirius paled, noticing Harry's hurt expression. "Oh, kiddo, I didn't mean it like that—"

"Of course you did," Harry said through clenched teeth, his voice quavering. "So, what? Was somebody _paying _you to look after me? Was somebody _paying _you to be nice to me?"

Sirius sighed, closing his eyes. "No, Harry, I've been looking after you because I'm your _godfather_—"

"Ah," Harry clapped his hands and let out a loud, curt laugh. "So _that's _it. You felt you were _obliged_ to look after me since you're my godfather. You felt forced."

Sirius frowned. "That's not it at all! You never let me finish! I've been looking after you because I'm your godfather and I love you."

"I bet not as much as you love Allyson," Harry muttered under his breath, not meaning for Sirius to hear, but he did.

"Is that how you feel? That I love Allyson more than you?"

"Of course not!" Harry exclaimed, feeling color rush to his face. "It's just that's how you act like. You barely even pay attention to me. Or Remus, for that matter."

"Remus?" Sirius exclaimed, running his fingers through his hair. "What does Remus have to do with this? Obviously this is about Allyson and how you find that I love her more than you."

"That's not it at all," Harry replied angrily. "This is about how I think that you felt forced to take care of me. I've had a pretty good suspicion for a while that somebody was _paying _you to do it."

Of course, that was a lie, but it came out.

"Well, if that's what you think then maybe it's _true!_" Sirius exclaimed, throwing his hands up in the air. "Every time you got sick and I took care of you, somebody paid me. When I bought you food and took care of you, put a roof over your head, somebody paid me."

Harry clenched his teeth together. "Stop it. This is serious."

"I am serious!" Sirius exclaimed, ignoring the pun. "Oh, god, this is ridiculous…"

"I can tell how much you like Allyson," Harry said, his voice lowering but still quavering slightly. "And I would like her too if I didn't get a bad vibe off her. You don't seem to care what I think, though. So maybe I should just leave, that way you _never _have to care about what I think."

"Yeah," Sirius said, looking exhausted but angry. "Maybe you should."

Then, turning on his heel, Harry went to go to the phone and call Isabella. He wasn't sure if Sirius was following him or not, but he didn't stop and turn around to find out.

"Hello?" A sleepy voice asked. Isabella's voice.

"Sorry to wake you, Mrs. Jessup," Harry said in a soft voice, letting his tears fall. "I'm really, really sorry. Can you come pick me up?"

Isabella's voice turned frantic and demanding. "Oh, god, Harry! Where are you, are you in trouble? Are you hurt?"

"I'm just upset," Harry said, sniffing. "Sirius and I had a fight. I didn't know who else to call. I need to leave the house, but I don't know where to go, and you just came into my head."

"Of course," Isabella replied, sounding relieved. "I'm here for you any time. Day or night. Rain or snow. I'll be over as soon as I can, okay, Harry?"

Then the phone clicked, a sign that Isabella hung up.

Harry put the phone back on the cradle and went to go get his shoes and coat, which was difficult since his tears that bubbled up in his eyes blurred his vision.

Once he got his coat and shoes on, he noticed Sirius standing in front of him, just standing there and staying mute.

Harry quickly wiped his eyes and stood up straighter, scowling at Sirius.

"Have a nice life."

With one last look, Harry opened the door and stood on the threshold, making sure to slam the door as hard as he could behind him.

-

"Oh god Harry, you look horrible," Isabella said as Harry stepped into her car. "It must've been a pretty bad fight, huh?"

"Horrible," Harry said, leaning back into the cushioned seat. "I feel so bad for saying the things I did to Sirius, but he said some things too…"

"Some things that he didn't mean," Isabella said firmly, glancing at Harry before keeping her eyesight back on the road. Even though it was a clear, summers night, after the car accident a while back she stayed as safe on the road as ever. "And you said things that _you _didn't mean."

"I know," Harry said, emitting a sigh. "Mrs. Jessup, do you mind if… if I stay with you for the rest of the summer? There's not much of it left, and I don't want to go back to the house right now…"

Isabella hesitated before replying. "I'm not sure, Harry. What about Sirius? And Remus? They'll be really concerned about you."

"Please, Mrs. Jessup," Harry said, turning his head to look at Isabella. "I don't want to go back yet. I can't see Sirius yet, or… or his girlfriend…"

"I have to be honest Harry," Isabella started as she pulled into her driveway. "Something's weird about that girl. Whenever you see her, stay careful, OK? I don't want you to get hurt."

Harry looked up at Isabella in surprise. So she didn't trust Allyson either. He was relieved to find that he wasn't the only one.

"And you can't avoid Sirius forever," Isabella continued as she unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the door to get out. "I mean he's your godfather. That and your school—"

Harry froze, looking up at Isabella in horror. School? Did she know about Hogwarts? What else did she know? After all, she was only a muggle…

Isabella sighed, leading Harry to the door. "Don't give me that look, Harry. I know that you're a wizard. That Sirius is one, too. Possibly even Remus."

Harry was about to ask 'how?' but Isabella beat him to it.

"Julian." Isabella bit her lip. "He told me that he was a - a wizard. He told me about Hogwarts and the magical stuff, and about this boy-who-lived." she glanced at Harry as she opened the door and invited him in. "You."

"I didn't know that Julian was a wizard," Harry admitted. "I'm actually surprised that you know, too."

"Well he wasn't about to keep that little secret from me our whole lives," Isabella said with a laugh, hanging up her coat on the coat rack. "I'm just thinking if Nevaeda will be a… er, a witch when she turns eleven. And Willow. After all, their father is a wizard…" Then she looked at Harry, smiling. "It's hard to believe that you're the boy-who-lived from what Julian explained to me. Amazing…"

Then she took Harry by the hand and led him to the guest room. "This is still a little weird for me," Isabella said. "But I'm starting to get used to having my husband and friends being wizards. Anyhow… if you need anything, don't hesitate to ask, all right, Harry?"

Harry nodded and thanked Isabella before she smiled again and shut the door. It was weird having Isabella know what he was, but also a little good. He didn't have to lie to her anymore.

Laying down on his temporary bed, Harry thought about what had just happened. The argument between Harry and Sirius was unbelievable. They had never fought like _that _before. Last time they had an argument Harry had told Sirius that he hated him, and then what happened next made them promise that they'd never fight like that again. But here they were…

Harry closed his eyes. It was all because of Allyson. The argument had been about her. Why couldn't she just leave them alone? He, Sirius and Remus had been perfectly happy before Allyson McGregor arrived, and he didn't want his and Sirius's relationship be put to an end because of her.

——

A/N: Here's the update, thank you all very much for the reviews. Hoping to see more!


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"Thanks again for letting me stay for the rest of the summer," Harry said the next morning to Isabella, who was currently putting heaps of food onto the table.

"Come by more, Harry!" yelled Willow happily, just arriving back from her grandparents house a while ago. "We like it. You make mummy happy, 'cause you 'mind her of Mattie!"

Harry cast a quick glance at Isabella, who paled visibly. Ever since what happened awhile back, when she had gone a little… crazy… and was certain that Harry was Matt, Isabella had tried to put that in the past. She never brought it up once, until Willow had said that.

"Hush, Willow," Isabella scolded. "Eat your eggs before they get cold."

"But they hot," Willow said, frowning.

"Then blow on them." She turned to Harry, giving a small smile. "We should go get your stuff from Sirius's, Harry. If you're really certain that you want to stay for the remainder of the summer, then you need your clothes, your… _school _things, that sort of stuff."

"We can go now," Harry said, looking up at Isabella, wanting to get it over with quickly. "To get some stuff. I'll tell you what I need on the way over there."

Isabella poured herself a glass of water. "Aren't you going to go in yourself to get your things? Hey, if you and Sirius have a talk when we get there maybe you'll have a change of heart."

"I doubt it," Harry said, averting his eyes. "It was a pretty big argument, and I bet you anything that Sirius has Allyson over again today."

——

Sirius sighed as Allyson tried to get him up the stairs. How many times had he tried explaining to her that he was more concerned on learning where Harry was then going up to the room?

"Just ignore that," Allyson said with a small smile as the doorbell rang. "Probably somebody just selling something. Lupin can get it anyway, can't he, baby? C'mon, Siri…"

"Maybe it's Harry," Sirius said, pulling his hand out of her grasp. "I have to answer it."

"Potter ringing the doorbell?" Allyson said with raised eyebrows. "Come off it, Sirius."

Sirius cast Allyson another look before he went over to the door and opened it, his hopes lowering as he noticed that it was Isabella standing on the threshold and not Harry. But then again, maybe she was over because she had news about Harry… _good _news.

"Hi, Sirius," Isabella said, grinning. "Is it OK if I go get some things for Harry?"

Sirius looked at Isabella strangely. "Get some things for Harry? Why? Where is he, is he with you? No, never mind, stupid question. I heard him on the phone with you last night."

Isabella nodded. "I tried getting him to come back, but he wouldn't. He said he wanted to spend the remainder of the summer away from the house. You know, not away from you, but mostly away from your girlfriend—"

Then noticing Allyson standing behind him, Isabella flashed her a quick smile. "Sorry, Allyson. Nice to see you again, dear."

Allyson threw her a sarcastic smile. "Hi, Jessup. Nice to, ah, see you again too, I guess."

"Is Harry with you?" Sirius asked hopefully, but was disappointed when he saw Isabella shake her head.

"Well, yes he is, but I imagine he's halfway to Matt's ah… grave, by now."

Sirius's eyes widened. "_Grave? _He's going to _walk _there? That's… too far!"

Isabella shrugged, looking sorry. "He wanted to go while I got some of his things. He said the fresh air might do him a bit of good, you know, make him less angry. So I said he could, but only if he was back by a certain time. I'm sorry, Sirius, I shouldn't of let him… I mean he's not my boy, but I should've asked you first - Ah, I'm so—"

"No," Sirius interrupted quickly. "Not your fault. Go to his room, you know where it is, I have to go to him."

Once Sirius was at the door, Isabella smiled at Allyson uncertainly. "Uh… hi again."

Allyson gave a nod of acknowledgement, standing in the same spot.

"Hey Isabella," Remus said from the kitchen. "What're you doing here?"

Isabella walked into the house and smiled at Remus. "Just to pick some of his things up. Hey, Remus? I imagine you're uh… a, how do I put this? Um…" She looked at Allyson, who made no attempt to move. Finally, Isabella said,"Well, I don't know what to get for Harry for his _school_. I suppose you might know, right?"

——

Harry turned around quickly, surprised as he heard Sirius calling out his name. "Sirius? What are you doing here?"

"Isabella told me that you were going to Matt's grave," Sirius explained, stopping to catch his breath once he caught up with Harry. "I had to come find you and talk to you."

Harry, remembering the words that each of them had said the night before, turned around and started to walk away. "What? Did somebody offer to pay you double if you came here to find me?"

He heard Sirius groan from behind him, and then felt Sirius's hand on his shoulder, stopping him from walking even farther.

"Don't do this again," Sirius said, looking Harry in the eye. "I only came here to apologize. Those things that I said last night weren't true."

"But you said them anyway," Harry argued, trying to squirm out of Sirius's grip on his shoulder, but failed.

"Yes, but you said things last night that weren't true, too. Did you mean them?"

Harry kept eye contact with Sirius as he spoke. "Some of the things were most definitely true," he said, ignoring Sirius's hurt look. "You barely have any time for me anymore, you don't care that I think your girlfriend is up to something, you're not there when I need you anymore because you spend so much time with Allyson. But what I didn't mean was when I said that you felt obliged to look after me and that somebody paid you to look after me."

"Since when did you need me and I wasn't there?" Sirius asked, his hands still placed on Harry's shoulders.

"A few times! When I just wanted to _talk _to you, you were on the phone with Allyson for practically the whole night."

With that, Harry finally pulled away from Sirius's grip and started to walk away again.

"Once," Sirius argued. "Come off it, Harry. This argument is ridiculous, and I would've made time to talk to you," he yelled, walking closer to Harry.

"You would've shooed me away!"

Sirius scowled. "I would not! I would've hung up and _listened _to what you had to say to me. I wouldn't of _shooed _you away. I'm not like that."

Harry opened his mouth to argue again, but he already felt exhausted from the yelling that he and Sirius had accomplished so far, so all he did was let out a sigh and walk past Sirius, completely forgetting to go to the graveyard, and walked back to Isabella's house.

——

"I can't believe that you and Sirius had this huge argument all because of his girlfriend," Isabella said to Harry with a shake of her head. She had found Harry in the guest room, staring at floor, and now she was squatting in front of Harry, trying to get him to talk to her.

"Neither can I," Harry replied softly. "It seems so silly. To him it probably is, but it's not silly to me. It's important."

"So talk to me," Isabella said in a gentle voice. "What is it about Allyson that you don't like?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I just get a bad vibe from her. Don't you?"

"I don't get a bad vibe from her," Isabella admitted. "Well… I don't know. Something about her just doesn't feel right."

"Isabella?" Julian stood in the doorway, grinning at Harry. "Hi, Harry. Do you mind if I borrow Isabella for a second?"

Harry nodded. "Sure."

"You're home early," Isabella said as she stood up. "Lunch break?" She walked over to Julian, where they started to discuss something. When Isabella came back, she gave Harry a small grin.

"Harry, Julian's cousin is coming to stay with us. He's uh, a… _wizard _too. I think he goes to your school? His name's um… Jedediah Works?"

Harry frowned. The name remained unknown. He had no clue who this Jedediah Works was.

Isabella shook her head. "Anyway, he'll be staying with us. You don't mind if you share a room with him, do you?"

Harry shook his head. "'Course not."

Isabella smiled. "He'll be coming over tonight. His parents are going through a… tough time, so Julian invited him to stay with us for the rest of the summer." She turned to leave, then looked back. "Oh, and Harry?"

Harry raised his eyebrows at Isabella. "Yeah, Mrs. Jessup?"

"We'll talk after."

——

When Jedediah Works arrived, Harry found that he had a Slytherin-type look to him. He had dark hair that seemed to flop onto his head, and dark eyes to match. His voice was cool and slow when he spoke.

"Thank you Uncle Julian, for letting me stay with you for the rest of the summer," he said to Julian. "I'll be on my _best _behaviour."

Julian smiled. "I bet you will, Jedediah. This is my gorgeous wife, Isabella, and our daughter Nevaeda," Julian motioned to Isabella and then the baby, which Isabella had in her arms. "You've already met the oldest, Willow. Oh, and we can't forget Harry! Jedediah, this is our other guest, Harry Potter."

Jedediah's eyes swerved onto Harry. "Ah, of course. Who could forget you?"

There was an odd silence flowing through the house until Isabella spoke. "Harry? Why don't you take Jedediah to the room? I should have supper ready soon enough."

"OK," Harry agreed, turning down the hall to the guest room with Jedediah following.

"So… you're a Slytherin?" Harry said as they entered the room. Jedediah eyed him in amusement.

"And you're a Gryffindor." He started to smile. "We are going to have a _very _amusing time for the rest of the summer."

——

A/N: Review if you liked the chap!


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

Harry had excused himself from the table the next morning, only to have Jedediah follow him into the guestroom.

"So, Potter. Care to share why you're here?" Jedediah asked conversationally. "After all, don't you live with Black?"

Harry frowned at Jedediah. "Why do you want to know?"

Jedediah shrugged. "I'm going to be keeping you company for the rest of the summer. I have a right to know."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "No, you don't."

Jedediah shook his head. "OK, well, are you going to come with me tonight or not, Potter? I'm being gracious by even asking you."

"Tonight?" Harry sat down in a chair, looking at the other boy with a frown. "What's going on tonight?"

Jedediah sighed exasperatedly, and he lay down on the bed, looking at Harry in pure annoyance. "Weren't you listening to anything that I was talking about last night? You were completely ignoring me then or were you just deaf?"

"Actually, I fell asleep half-way through your speech about how you hate your parents for splitting up," Harry replied coldly.

Jedediah narrowed his eyes. "Well, since I can tell you're being sarcastic, did you not hear me ask you if you wanted to come to this place with me?"

Harry raised his eyebrows. " 'This place'? What do you mean?"

Jedediah shrugged. "We both have problems, and usually I solve my problems by going to a… pub. It usually helps a lot for these problems. And, seeing as how you obviously have some problems, I thought that you'd want to come, too. If not, I'm going out on my own."

Harry scowled at Jedediah. "How do you know that I have some 'problems'? And even if I do, it's none of your business."

"Fine," Jedediah said. "But I asked. Oh, and Potter? Whether you come or not, you better not tell my Uncle and his wife where I'm going. I doubt that they'd like me getting drunk, so I better have your word that you won't tell."

"I'll think about it," Harry said, keeping eye contact with the boy. But, before Jedediah could reply, Isabella appeared in the doorway.

"Sorry boys, but do you mind if I talk to Harry?" she asked.

Jedediah threw Harry a warning look, but agreed to let Isabella take him anyway.

"Something wrong, Mrs. Jessup?" Harry asked once he was in the hall.

"Harry," Isabella started, "as much as I _love _you being here with us, I really want you to reconcile with Sirius. You both mean so much to each other, and I imagine it's hurting Sirius not to have you there with him."

"I know," Harry started quietly. "That's why… I'm going to try to work things out in a day or two. Possibly tomorrow, it depends."

A wide grin settled onto Isabella's face, and she wrapped a friendly arm around his shoulder, bringing him into a one-armed hug. "_That's _what I wanted to hear. You shouldn't end your relationship with Sirius just because he has bad choices in choosing girls, OK Harry? Sooner or later Sirius will come to his senses."

Harry grinned. "I hope." Then he bit his lip, looking hesitant before he asked, "Allyson was over at your barbeque that time. Can you tell me what you know about her?"

Isabella leaned up against the wall, looking thoughtful. "I don't know much about her. The only reason I invited her then was because she had just moved here and barely knew anybody. I was just being nice, so I can't really say anything about her."

Harry nodded and smiled. "All right, thanks Mrs. Jessup."

Harry walked back into the guestroom to find Jedediah looking at Harry's owl, which Isabella had kindly let stay in the guestroom on the desk.

When Jedediah noticed Harry come back into the room, he nodded his head towards his owl. "That your bird?"

Harry frowned. "Yes, it is my _owl._"

"What's its name?"

"Hedwig," Harry replied, sitting back down in the chair. "So you actually go out and get drunk because you have some problems?"

Jedediah shrugged. "Sometimes. So are you coming or not?"

Harry shook his head. "Not."

Jedediah bristled for a moment, then seemed to relax as he shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, Potter. Like I said before, I offered."

——

"Potter!" Jedediah hissed. "Shut it! Can't you see I'm busy here?"

Harry watched as Jedediah opened the window and stuck his legs out. "I don't think you should do it," he said calmly. "What if Mr. or Mrs. Jessup find you gone? What if you get too drunk and can't find your way back here?"

Jedediah threw Harry a look. "Then come with me! You can stay sober and lead me back here if I become too drunk. If not, then just shut it and go back to sleep."

Harry bit his lip. Why should he help a Slytherin? But still, somehow he didn't want Isabella or Julian to become worried if Jedediah didn't come back in the morning. And if Jedediah _did _become too intoxicated and couldn't find his way back, who knows where he'd go?

"Fine," Harry agreed as Jedediah finally got himself out of the window. "I'll come with you, but I'll stay sober."

"Fine with me. Least I'll have some company. Now hurry up and get out the window."

When Harry was standing on the front lawn, he followed Jedediah down the driveway. "Where are we going?" Harry asked.

"I told you, a pub."

"Aren't we underage?"

"Just by two years or so," Jedediah argued. "Listen, if you're going to keep complaining I shouldn't of even invited you at all."

As they made their way down the road to one of the pubs, Harry had kept quiet the whole time. Mainly thinking about how awful the argument with Sirius had been, and how eager he was to apologize.

"We'll go in through the back way," Jedediah whispered to Harry once they passed the pub and walked to the back where a single door was.

"Somebody'll catch us," Harry said firmly. "Why don't we just go back to Mrs. Jessup's house? I'm sure she has a drink there for you. Maybe water?"

"Don't be an arse," Jedediah said, opening the door and stepping inside. They were inside of a storage room. "Come on, Potter. There's a door up here, probably leading into the pub."

Jedediah led Harry towards the door and opened it. In front of them was a dimly lit pub with chairs and tables, and a counter up near the wall where they ordered the drinks.

"Do you have money?" Harry asked as Jedediah walked up the counter, waiting for somebody to take his order.

Jedediah held up money. "I took it from Isabella."

"What can I getcha, sonny?" An obese man asked, his elbows leaning on the counter. He had his hand held out in front of Jedediah, who shoved the money into it.

"Rum," Jedediah replied.

"And you?" The man turned to Harry.

Jedediah glanced at Harry. "Oh, him? He'll have V—"

"Nothing," Harry interrupted, turning to glare at Jedediah. "I'll have nothing, thanks."

Moments later, the man returned with a cupful of rum and placed it in front of Jedediah. Jedediah picked the cup up and put it his mouth, drinking it in one swig.

He shook his head as if trying to clear it, then clapped his hand down on the table and ordered for another. Harry watched in amazement as Jedediah drank, then ordered more. Soon, he became too drunk to think clearly.

"My life stinks," Jedediah mumbled, clumsily banging on the counter for another drink. "Parents gettin' divorced. What else coul' happen tah me? Garghh - Hey, you! Person dat served the drinks! Over here… gimme more."

"I'm gonna have to cut you off," the man replied as soon as he came over. "You're as drunk as it is. You're not driving, are you?"

"No, we're walking," Harry interrupted. "And I think we'll leave now."

Harry tugged on Jedediah's arm, trying to stand him up. Jedediah could barely even walk.

"Yer the bloody boy-who-lived," Jedediah said as soon as they got outside. "You don' have no problems atall, do yeh? No… I din' think so… I wish my bloody life coul' be like yurs. 'Cept for almost gettin' killed every bloody day. But the _fame _catches my atten—atten—wha'ever."

Harry didn't make any reply as he tried to help Jedediah back to Isabella's house.

"Yer not gonna men-chen this tah Izzabella, are yah?" Jedediah asked. "'Cause if yeh do, I'll hate you thish much." Then he spread his arms out wide. "So you keep thish our lil' secret, righ'?"

"Sure," Harry muttered as they stepped onto the grass and stood underneath the window. "Now I'll go in first so I can help you up, OK?"

Jedediah nodded as Harry started to climb through the window. When he was standing in the guestroom, who leaned out the window to help Jedediah out.

"Why don't I go get you a glass of water?" Harry suggested. "Maybe it'll help you a bit."

"Shure, wha'ever," Jedediah muttered, climbing into his cot. "I'mma goin' to sleep now."

Harry never bothered to get the glass of water, since he went into his own bed and fell asleep.

——

A/N: If you read this, then please review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So, Harry," Isabella said conversationally as she made breakfast the next morning. "Where's Jedediah? Is he still sleeping, because he didn't come out with you."

"Oh, well he's … er, in the bathroom," Harry replied truthfully. "Not feeling good this morning."

Isabella frowned, putting eggs on a plate. "Oh, he's not? Do you know if he's all right?"

"Oh, yeah, I'm sure he's fine," Harry responded, giving Isabella a thank-you as she set a plate down in front of him. "I bet it's just something that will go away later on during the day."

"Where was you last night?" Willow asked as she stabbed an egg on her plate with a fork. She put it in her mouth and looked at Harry curiously. "I came in to you room and you was gone."

"Willow?" Isabella said slowly, "Talk properly. We've been working on that, remember?"

Willow blushed, but nodded. "Sorry, Isabella."

Harry swallowed as he looked at the little girl. "What do you mean, Willow? I was sleeping all last night."

Willow shook her head vigorously. "Nuh-uh! I came into _your _room because I wanted you to read me a story, but you were gone."

Isabella looked at Willow with a frown. "Are you telling fibs, Willow?"

The little girl looked hurt, but shook her head. "I am being serious. Harry was gone! Poof! So was Jemima."

Just then, Jedediah came into the room, looking tired.

"You don't look so good," Isabella said as she set a plate in front of Jedediah. "Were you sick in the bathroom?"

"Yeah, but I'm fine," Jedediah snapped. "I just got a headache. Could I have a drink?"

"Sure," Isabella said, grabbing a glass and filling it with cold water. "I have to take Harry over to Sirius's after breakfast, would you mind watching Willow and Nevaeda, Jedediah?"

Jedediah sighed, not bothering to hide how much he didn't want to baby-sit. "What about Uncle Julian? Can't he watch his own kids?"

"Your Uncle is at work," Isabella pointed out. "He left early this morning."

Jedediah sighed again, drinking the water thirstily. "Fine, I'll look after them."

"Thank-you, Jedediah. I'm trusting you to look after my girls, and you will, right?"

Jedediah nodded solemnly. "I will look after your girls …" He trailed off, not knowing what to call Isabella, but then shrugged it off and drank the rest of the water that was in the cup.

"How about we leave in five minutes, Harry?" Isabella said, noticing that Harry had finished the food on his plate. "It'll give me some time to get ready. That sound good to you?"

"Sure," Harry said with a nod; Isabella leaving the kitchen afterwards. Then, he turned to look at Jedediah. "You should tell her about last night."

Jedediah glared at Harry, nodding his head towards Willow, who was listening in to their conversation eagerly.

"I knew that you went out," Willow said with a smile. "I knew it! Why you lie, Harry?"

Harry glanced at Jedediah. "You explain to her, Jedediah. After all, it was your idea."

Jedediah scowled at Harry, then looked at the little girl in annoyance. "We never went _out _anywhere. I was asleep in bed and Potter here went out to get a glass of water. Didn't you, Potter?"

Harry stayed quiet, glaring at the Slytherin. When he didn't reply, Jedediah got more annoyed, and hissed again, "_Didn't you, _Potter?"

Still, Harry said nothing. He wouldn't lie to a little girl, and he didn't want to keep lying to everybody else, either.

"Actually -"

"Harry?" Isabella came into the kitchen again, her hair combed and make-up in place. "You ready to go now?"

Harry quickly glanced at Jedediah, and nodded. "Yeah. I'm ready."

——

"You seem nervous," Isabella observed as she and Harry drove along the road to Sirius's house. "Why? It's just Sirius."

"I know," Harry replied with an uneasy laugh. "But after what I said to him, I'm not sure how he'll react. Does he know that I'm even coming?"

Isabella nodded in reply. "I called him yesterday. He seemed quite pleased about it, so I'm sure it won't be that bad."

Harry sighed and nodded. Suddenly, they were parked in the driveway of the familiar-looking white house.

"Go on," encouraged Isabella. "I'll come check in after. It'll be OK Harry, don't worry."

Harry smiled at Isabella as he took his seatbelt off. "Thanks, Mrs. Jessup. For letting me stay in your home, and feeding me …"

Isabella just smiled, motioning for him to get out of the car and into the house.

Harry stepped out and watched Isabella pull out of the driveway before he walked up to the door, stood on the threshold, and knocked.

Then he stopped. Why was he knocking? He _lived _here. He didn't have to knock.

Just as he was reaching out for the door handle, the door swung open, and Remus was standing in the doorway, a confused expression on his face. He also looked surprised.

"Harry? What are you doing knocking?"

Harry blushed. "Sorry Moony."

Remus gave his head a shake but opened the door wider, letting Harry in.

"Where's Sirius?" Harry asked casually.

"He's, uh … on the phone," Remus replied with a short laugh. "He's trying to convince Allyson not to come over."

Harry kept his mouth shut and nodded curtly. "I see."

Just then, Sirius came into the room, looking uncomfortable. "Er - Hi, Harry. Did you … knock?"

Harry nodded. "Sorry about that. I don't know why I knocked."

Sirius quickly shook his head. "It's … it's fine. Do you want to sit down? And talk?"

Harry gave his head a shake. "I'll stand."

Then there was silence, and sensing that it just needed to be Sirius and Harry, Remus quietly left.

"We really need to talk," Sirius said. "Really."

"I know," replied Harry. "That's why I'm here."

"Right." Sirius ran his fingers through his hair. "I want you to come back, Harry. I don't like us being so distant."

"I know," Harry said softly. "Neither do I. And to think it's all because of your _girlfriend._"

Sirius shook his head. "Don't blame this on Allyson, Harry. She did nothing to start this fight. It's all us; you and I."

"Sorry," Harry said. "I - sorry."

Sirius went forward, wrapping his arms around Harry in a hug.

"I don't like us fighting," Harry said, his voice muffled as he buried his head into Sirius's chest. "I keep remembering our first fight, and then after it … you know."

"I just want you back home," Sirius said quietly. "No more fights."

Harry nodded his head in agreement. "No more fights."

——

A few days had passed since Sirius and Harry had reconciled, and even though Allyson still came over frequently, Sirius did save time for him and Harry. Now, Harry was sitting at the table with Allyson, Remus and Sirius.

"Oh, you're leaving?" Allyson said to Remus, who had just announced that he was going to bed, with a pout. "That's too bad. I was having fun."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed with a smile, happy that Remus and Harry were getting along with Allyson. "You'll miss dessert!"

"Sorry," Remus apologized. "It's late and I'm tired. Save some for me, though."

"Bye, Moony," Harry said, startled as Sirius jumped up yelling, "Oh no! My pie is burning!"

"I thought I forbid you to ever use a stove?" Harry said with a smile.

Allyson, once Sirius had went over to the stove to save his pie, turned to look at Harry.

"So, what school do you go to?"

Harry had no clue what to tell her. He certainly couldn't tell her that he went to Hogwarts, School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.

"I go to a good school," Harry finally said. "Very educational."

Allyson smiled, though it seemed forced. "How informative."

"I'm sorry to announce," Sirius said once he returned. "There will be no dessert tonight."

Allyson giggled and stood up. "No worries. I better be going, anyways. Like Remus said, it's late. I'll talk to you after?"

Harry turned away once Allyson had leaned in towards Sirius for a kiss. Somehow, he felt like he was intruding if he didn't.

Then he let out a cough and stood up. "I should be going to bed too. I'm, uh, very exhausted." As if to prove his point, Harry yawned, smiled, then, instead of going to his own room, he slipped into Remus's.

Harry let a small grin form on his lips as he noticed that Remus was indeed not asleep, but instead reading a book.

"Harry, what are you doing?" Remus asked, setting his book down on his lap. "Shouldn't you be out with Sirius and Allyson?"

"Shouldn't you?" Harry said with a shrug. "I left the same reason you did. That, and because Allyson was leaving anyways."

"I didn't mean to be rude," said Remus. "I couldn't just sit there anymore. It was so quiet. Definitely unlike when it's just the three of us."

Harry nodded and climbed onto Remus's bed, going up beside him. "What book are you reading, Moony?"

"A Muggle book," Remus replied, picking the book back up.

"Is it any good?"

"Well, yes," Remus said. "I suppose. It's worth reading when you're bored, anyway."

Harry looked down at the sheets before looking back up at Remus, hesitating before he asked his question. "Do you think, Moony … that is, if Sirius and Allyson ever get married, perhaps … well, do you think that if they do get married that we'll be doing this every suppertime?" he asked. "Or every lunch?"

"You mean making up an excuse to leave?" Harry nodded, and Remus didn't know what to say. "Well, I'm not sure."

"I hope not," Harry said, then the room was filled with silence, until Sirius opened the door.

"Is a party going on in here, and nobody invited me?" Sirius said, pretending to be hurt. "It's never a party without me."

Harry laughed. "No party, Padfoot. Just talking."

Sirius raised his eyebrows at Remus, who was still holding onto his book. "I thought it was late? And you were tired?"

Remus hesitated before he answered. "I was, but then I realized that I never finished this book so … I thought I'd finish it."

Then Sirius turned to Harry. "Come on, kid. Let's hear your excuse."

Harry, too, hesitated before he answered, and tried to come up with an excuse that sounded almost as realistic as Remus's.

"I needed to, ah … do something," Harry muttered lamely. "Y'know, talk to M - Moony about something."

Sirius leaned against the doorframe, looking highly amused. "What did you need to talk to Mr Moony about?"

"Erm … How he can make such a good, uh, Roast—Roast Chicken?"

Remus frowned and looked at Harry. "I've never made Roast Chicken."

Harry glared at Remus. "You were planning to, remember?"

Remus looked confused as he shook his head, obviously not getting what Harry was saying. "No, I wasn't planning on making a roast chicken."

"Nice try," Sirius said with a laugh. "Why did you two decide to have this little meeting without me?"

"It's not a meeting," Harry said quickly. "I was just passing by Remus's room on the way to _my _room, and I noticed that he was reading, so I decided to come in here and talk to him."

Sirius still looked confused. "How could you pass by Remus's room on the way to your room? Remus's room is after yours, not before."

"I was on my way to the _bathroom,_" Harry corrected. "Not my room. Who said my room?"

"Harry," Sirius said warningly. "What's going on?"

Harry didn't want to start another fight by telling Sirius that he _still _didn't trust Allyson, so he was trying to avoid that. So, to evade that, Harry tried to stall.

"Er - what were we talking about?"

Sirius said, walking over to the bed and sitting down. "Come on, you two. I don't like being left out in the cold."

"It's nothing, really," Remus said gently. "Harry and I were just talking. You two do it all the time, I think I should have my turns, too."

Sirius looked at Remus then Harry, before nodding. "All right. Can I join your talk now?"

Harry nodded brightly. "Sure. We were just talking about Roast Chicken."

Sirius raised his eyebrows at Harry, who kept a straight face, then at Remus, who immediately went back to his book.

"Roast Chicken? What about it?"

"It's, uh, very good," Harry said as convincingly as he could. "Y'know … it's good."

"Uh-huh," Sirius said with a nod. "Why don't I believe that?"

Harry then yawned, glancing at Remus, who was still paying no attention to anything except the book.

"I'm really exhausted now. Maybe we could talk tomorrow, you two? It's been a _very _long day, so … goodnight."

He jumped up from the bed, making his way back to his own room, thinking the whole time that if Sirius and Allyson McGregor got married, that maybe they would be making excuses to leave the dinner table at every possible chance.

——

A/N: Well, review and tell me what you think of it. Next chapter should be up as soon as I can type it up and post it.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Come on, get up!" Sirius yelled to a stubborn Harry, who refused to get up that morning. Partly that, and also because Harry had himself believing that it was just a dream and not Sirius. After all, it was usually either him or Remus waking _Sirius _up, not the other way around.

"Get up," Sirius tried again, this time transforming into the dog and jumping up on Harry's bed, giving Harry's face several licks before Harry reluctantly sat up.

"What're you doing up so early?" Harry muttered, yawning. "It's not like you."

"I know," Sirius, who transformed back into a human, said brightly. "We have to go to Hogwarts, though. You know that, we do it every year. Have to set up for classes!"

Harry groaned and sat up. Sirius continued on, as an afterthought. "Of course, you can always stay with Moony and go on the Hogwarts Express, but, that'd mean you'd leave me …"

Sirius turned away and tried to look dejected at the thought.

Harry laughed, flipping the covers off him. "I'll come. I always do."

Sirius brightened, jumping off the bed. "Excellent. Breakfast will be ready by the time you're dressed."

Harry gave Sirius a look. "I hope you're not cooking, Siri."

"Nope. Allyson is."

Harry's hand, which was reaching out to take a shirt off a hanger, froze. He slowly turned around to face Sirius, who stood in the doorway looking happy. As if Harry hadn't heard correctly, he said, "What?"

"She knows we were leaving today," Sirius replied. "She decided to come over early before we left."

"Does she know _why _we're leaving?"

Sirius frowned. "No. Why?"

Harry said nothing, just sighed, and proceeded to change his clothes.

-

When Harry stepped into the kitchen, he saw Remus sitting across from Allyson looking exhausted. He seemed to jump up in relief when he noticed Harry.

"Harry!" he said almost desperately, practically jumping up from the chair he was sitting in. "Please come talk to Allyson and I before you leave."

Harry smiled at the woman politely. "Hello."

Without a 'hello' back, Allyson said, "So where is it exactly that you and Siri are leaving _so _long for?"

"School," Harry said quickly, sitting beside Remus.

"For _that _long?

"It's a different kind of school," Harry replied.

"Obviously," Allyson muttered under her breath sarcastically. She pouted when Sirius came into the room with a plate of bacon and pancakes. "I'm not going to see you for _that _long? That's torture!"

"That's life," Sirius said with a grin, pecking her lips. "Sorry, babe. I work there. You'll survive, won't you? It'd be a pity if you didn't."

Allyson giggled. "Silly. Just as long as you _write._"

"Of course," Sirius leaned down to peck her lips once more.

"Do you mind if I skip breakfast?" Harry asked, pushing his chair back to stand up. "I'm not hungry. I should start packing a few things, too."

Remus watched as Harry left, then looked up into the confused face of Sirius.

"I have to go talk to him about the Roast Chicken," Remus said, then he left too.

Allyson frowned, looking up at Sirius. "Roast Chicken?"

-

"I don't think Allyson's evil, or a Death Eater," Remus said quietly as he entered Harry's room, startling the boy. "She seems more like a teenager than an adult, though." Remus smiled, trying to brighten the mood. "But then, so does Sirius. Maybe it's a match made in Heaven."

"I can't stand her," Harry said, a frown on his face.

"I wouldn't want to be in the same room with her for longer than ten minutes," Remus admitted.

Harry, who sat on his bed looking at the floor, looked up at Remus with a smile. "I'm glad that you don't think I'm jealous anymore."

Remus studied Harry before saying, "I think you are jealous. A bit."

"The Roast Chicken excuse is getting old," Sirius said, opening the door and stepping into the room. He didn't look happy. "What is going on with you two? Every time Allyson's over you two always make an excuse to leave."

"I just wanted to make sure Harry was OK," Remus said defensively. "It's not like him to skip breakfast."

Sirius looked at Harry. "Are you OK?"

Harry nodded quietly, standing up. "I'm fine. Just not hungry. Let's go to Hogwarts now, all right?"

"Yeah, sure. But first let's say good-bye to Allyson before we leave, 'kay?"

Harry forced a smile onto his face. "Yeah. Of course." He looked up at Remus and gave him an appreciative grin. "Bye, Moony."

"I'll see you for the Christmas Holidays," Remus promised, enveloping the boy in a one-armed hug.

"Yeah," Harry agreed. He glanced out the door, then looked up at Remus. "We should give Sirius some time to say good-bye to Allyson, right?"

Remus nodded, letting Harry go. "Right."

——

That night, Harry sat up in the bed Sirius had conjured for Harry to sleep in until Hogwarts started back up. It was right beside Sirius's small bed, and Sirius was presently in the bathroom. Harry was trying to absorb what Sirius had just said, but it seemed hard to. After all, his guardian had just suggested that he might tell Allyson that he was a Wizard.

"Harry?" Sirius said cautiously when Harry didn't reply. He stepped out of the bathroom and bent down, prodding Harry gently with his finger. Finally, Harry looked up.

"What? Y—you're going to tell Allyson?" His words were laced with shock. He didn't realize that Sirius and Allyson were that … _serious. _"I didn't know you and Allyson were that serious," he admitted, voicing his thoughts.

"I don't know if I'm actually going to do it or not," Sirius replied, walking over to his own bed to lay down. He moved over in the bed so he was near Harry. "But she did tell me to write to her, and what will she think if I owl her? She's only a Muggle, and … I think we are pretty serious."

Harry tried to scrounge up some words to say. Something along the lines of, "I'm really happy for you! You deserve to be happy, Padfoot, and I think Allyson is willing to give you that happiness." But he just wasn't able to push the words out of his mouth.

"Y—you're going to tell her that you're a Wizard because she'll be curious if you send her a letter with an owl?" Harry, after a long period of silence, finally said. "That's all? You're not going to tell her because you really _like _her and want to be honest? That's your only reason?"

Sirius frowned, leaning against the backboard of the bed. "No, Harry. I do like her and I _do _want to be honest with her. Plus—plus I _do _think we are … y'know. It's been a while, and I like her a lot … and I think she likes me too …"

"Of course she likes you!" Harry said, restraining himself from adding, _Just not me or Remus. _It was apparent that she did like Sirius, just not so much him or Remus. "But it hasn't been that long, Sirius. A few weeks … right?"

Harry looked at Sirius, his eyes searching Sirius's face. Did Sirius date Allyson longer than what Harry had expected? He hoped not.

"A week," Sirius admitted, looking down at Harry. He could tell that Sirius wasn't lying. "Somewhere around there. I don't keep track, but I think that our relationship has been going pretty good. I also think that she's ready to know."

Harry pressed his lips together to keep from saying anything else.

"Are you OK?" Sirius asked after he surveyed his godson. Harry threw a forced smile together.

"Of course. I'm just speechless," Harry replied, looking into Sirius's eyes. "It's always been you, Remus and I. Now, it could possibly change. A lot to take in there."

"Harry—" Sirius started hesitantly. "You do like Allyson, don't you? Because lately, I get a different impression from you and Remus. You know all I want for you is to be happy, but if you don't think you are with Allyson around …"

Harry swallowed. Was Sirius saying that if he didn't like Allyson, that Sirius would … dump her? This was a chance that Harry had wanted, but now, why was he considering lying to Sirius?

Because he wanted his godfather to be happy, of course. If Sirius did dump Allyson, then he'd mope around all the time. He'd be sad, and Harry didn't want that to happen.

"All I want is for _you _to be happy," Harry replied honestly. "And if you like Allyson that much … then go for it. It doesn't matter what I think."

"Of course it matters," Sirius laughed. "You're my godson. It _matters._"

If Harry was honest about what he thought about Allyson, it would probably only stir up another argument.

"Goodnight, Sirius," Harry said, laying his head down on the pillow, staring up at the ceiling. Sirius slowly did the same.

——

In the morning, Harry pushed last nights conversation into the back of his mind as he got up to eat breakfast down in the Great Hall.

"Sleep well?" Sirius asked when Harry came into the kitchen. He was already up and drinking something (coffee, probably) in a goblet.

"Yep," Harry replied. "What are you doing today?"

"Well, get the stuff we'll be working on in DADA for starters. Then—" Sirius glanced at Harry over the rim of his goblet. "—I'll write to Allyson."

Harry stiffened as Sirius stood up. "So you're serious about it?"

Sirius grinned. "I'm always serious. Let's go to the Great Hall now. OK?"

Harry let a half-hearted grin grace his lips. "Sure."

Sirius pushed in his chair. He draped an arm around Harry's shoulders as they left the quarters, and immediately started up a conversation.

"So what will you do while I set up for September first? Write love notes to _your _girlfriend?" he teased his godson as they walked through the corridor.

Color crept into Harry's cheeks. "Actually I was going to write _Remus _a letter. I'd hardly call Remus a girl, let alone a _girlfriend._"

"Oh," Sirius said casually. "What are you writing to him about?"

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Honestly? I dunno. Probably that we got to Hogwarts safely or something."

"Of _course _we got to Hogwarts safely," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes.

That wasn't really what Harry was going to write to Remus about, but Sirius didn't have to know that. He hated lying to Sirius most of all, but in this case, it was necessary.

——

After breakfast, Harry went back to Sirius's quarters and gathered a quill, ink and piece of parchment together. Then he started to write.

_Remus, _

_I had a talk with Sirius last night. He said that he was planning on telling Allyson that he's a Wizard, or rather, 'suggesting' it. I didn't think that they were that serious—did you? Write back._

_- Harry_

Harry quickly skimmed the brief letter, and when he was satisfied with it, went to get Hedwig so she could deliver the letter to Remus.

He patiently waited on the sofa, his thoughts drifting to what the future might be like with Allyson around (he didn't like it), until his owl returned with Remus's response.

_Dear Harry, _

_Sirius 'suggested' that he was going to tell Allyson about being a Wizard? I didn't think that he would, not for a while anyway. They've been seeing each other—what?—a week now? I didn't think he'd tell her this soon. Why the revelation?_

_And how, exactly, did you react to the news?_

_Love,  
Remus_

Harry glanced quickly through the letter. He frowned at the last part. Did Remus really think that Harry would have a temper over it? He did feel surprised about what Sirius had said, but nothing that he would be really angry about.

Harry sighed and set the letter aside. Maybe, after a bit of quiet thinking, he'd write back. At that moment, all he wanted to do was just think about how Allyson would ruin their lives, and how he had to find a way to get rid of her.

He should have told Sirius how he felt about the woman the night before.

_——_

A/N: REVIEW, and Happy Easter!


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Harry sat in the Great Hall between his friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. The Sorting had just finished, and they were now eating their supper. Still deep in thought, mostly about the happenings of the summer that had went by, he didn't take notice of Ron saying his names over multiple times.

"Harry, mate, you OK?" Ron said, sounding more concerned than angry or annoyed.

Harry looked up at Ron and smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Hermione spoke up from his right. "Did something happen over the summer that's bothering you? You've been so quiet, Harry."

Harry nodded. "Well … something _has _happened, but it's really not _that _bad," he explained. "Sirius has a girlfriend."

Hermione smiled. "That's wonderful, Harry!" Then she looked at Ron. "We should congratulate Sirius after."

Ron agreed, biting into a Chicken leg. "So what's the matter? I would've thought that you'd be happy that Sirius has a girlfriend."

"I am," Harry said quickly. "I am happy for him."

"So what's wrong?" Hermione asked. "Do you feel jealous that he has a girlfriend? Maybe because he might spend a bit more time with her than you? After all, Harry, it's always been you, Remus and Sirius, hasn't it?"

Harry frowned at Hermione. "I'm not jealous. Every time I'm around her I feel like she's always up to something."

"Is she a Muggle?" Ron questioned after swallowing the food in his mouth. "Or is she a witch? Because if she is a witch, and you think that she's up to something, then she may be a—"

"It's come to mind," Harry replied honestly. "But I think she's a Muggle. She gives no signs of being magical."

"Still," Hermione said. "Do you _think _that she could be a witch? Maybe even a—" She dropped her voice low. "A Death Eater?"

Harry looked Hermione before giving his shoulders a small shrug. "I don't know."

"Well, does Sirius know what you think about her?" Hermione asked after a while, forgetting that she still had a plate full of food in front of her. "Or did you not tell him?"

"I did," Harry responded. "But it ended up with me moving out of the house for a bit, then moving back in. So, in other words, it didn't go well when I told him."

"Oh." Hermione stayed quiet. Then, "Maybe you should try telling him again, if you really think that something's wrong with Sirius's girlfriend."

"It's fine," Harry reassured the girl. "Really. I might actually grow to like her." Of course, that was a complete lie, but anything to drop the subject.

"All right," Hermione said. There was a bit more silence as Harry and Ron continued to eat, then, as Hermione bit her lip to keep from asking the next question that she wanted to ask Harry, she found that she couldn't keep it in any longer.

"What does Remus think about her?"

Harry gave Hermione a look, but answered anyway. "I—_why?_"

"Because," Hermione said. "If he thinks the same thing as you do, then maybe you two should confront Sirius about it. I'm sure if he knows that both of you sense that something's wrong with his girlfriend, then he'll reconsider his relationship."

"He's happy," Harry said slowly. "He's been really happy ever since they started dating. I don't want to ruin his happiness. Plus, things have been … going well with them."

"I'm glad to see how much you care about Sirius's feelings," Hermione responded gently. "But if you don't like her, then he does have a right to know. You could end up living with somebody you don't like for the rest of your life."

"He does know," Harry said, beginning to grow tired with the questions from Hermione. "Or did. Listen—can we just drop this? Sirius's happy, that's all that matters right now. If he decides that he really likes Allyson … then fine. I'm happy too."

Hermione kept her mouth closed and silently turned back to her food.

Harry glanced up at the staff table, and when he caught his godfathers' eye, gave the man a small smile. Yeah, he could tell Sirius was happy. He just didn't want to be the one to ruin his happiness, but Harry felt that may have to be an option.

——

Classes were just as tedious and tiring as Harry remembered them to be, and found, for some reason, that he wasn't paying much attention in Sirius's classes like he used to. He tried to think of the reasons why during Sirius's class, and came up with nothing.

"Harry?"

Harry looked up at Sirius, who stood in the front of the class, looking at Harry with raised eyebrows. He could feel the rest of the classes' eyes on him, and tried not to look around at them, but keep focused on Sirius.

"Yes, Professor Black?" Harry said in, thankfully, a somewhat calm voice.

Sirius regarded Harry for a moment longer before saying, "See me after class," and resuming talking to the rest of the class. Pushing the rest of his thoughts aside, Harry decided to pay attention to what was left of the of Sirius's DADA class.

——

Harry lagged behind as the rest of the class stepped out of the classroom. He stepped up to Sirius's desk, waiting for the Professor to, instead of looking at him so, talk.

"You wanted to see me, sir?"

Nothing was said from Sirius for a while, until he spoke in a calm, soft voice. "I did. I wanted to know what was the matter with you."

"What was the matter with _me_?" Harry repeated, looking confused. "Nothing's wrong. Why?"

"You're acting different, Harry. First of all, you're not paying attention in class. Second of all, you're acting odd with me."

"I was paying attention in class," Harry argued, though he knew that that was a lie. "And I'm certainly not acting odd towards you. What are you on about, Sirius?"

Sirius gave Harry an incredulous look. "I can't believe it. M—my own godson, that I've raised since he was seven years old, lied straight to my face."

Harry looked away, but then after a few seconds, forced himself to look back at Sirius.

"I'm not lying. Well … maybe I was about not paying attention, but I'm not acting odd or distant or whatever you think around you."

Again, Sirius stayed quiet, and looked at Harry as if patiently waiting for Harry to be honest, but when Harry made no attempt to, Sirius sighed.

"Go, you'll be late for class."

Harry made his way towards the door, glancing back at Sirius when he was standing by the doorframe, and then continued down to his next class.

——

At lunch, while piling mounds of food onto his plate, Ron glanced at Harry and asked, "What did Sirius want?"

"Oh," Harry said slowly. "He just wanted to talk."

"About why you weren't paying attention in class?" Hermione guessed. She had a matter-of-fact look on her face.

Harry glanced at Hermione with a frown. "Yeah."

"Why _weren't _you paying attention in class?" asked Hermione. "You've always loved Sirius's classes."

"I do," Harry replied. "But it was just one time, it's not really that big a deal."

Harry turned back to his food, stuffing a spoonful of potatoes in his mouth, hoping that Hermione wouldn't continue with her questions. While thinking of why he was acting the way he was towards Sirius, he was relieved that Hermione didn't continue with the query.

——

A/N: This was a difficult chapter to write, and I know that it shows a bit (just like my other story, lol). But I try my best. Sorry for the wait, and review please!


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

A while passed since September first. Remus and Harry had been corresponding—mostly about Allyson—and Harry was a bit surprised when Remus had wrote saying that Allyson still came over to the house, even with Sirius gone. He had said that she came over to mainly just sit around and very rarely talked.

When Harry replied, asking why she still came over, Remus wrote back saying that he didn't know, but she didn't do it very often. Just once in a while.

Now, Harry was sitting in Sirius's chambers waiting for the older man to speak. A while earlier Sirius had asked if Harry would mind not going to Hogsmeade today so they could have a talk.

"What do you think of Allyson?"

The question came out of Sirius's mouth quick and to the point.

Harry looked at Sirius oddly, then said, "We already discussed this."

"I know," Sirius said, standing up from the armchair that he was sitting in, facing Harry. He started pacing, his arms folded. "But that was a while ago, and your answer could change. Besides, you could've just been saying you liked her because I like her. I want us to be honest now."

Harry's reply was silence, since he didn't feel like lying to Sirius about how his answer _was _honest, when it obviously wasn't.

"Why are you so curious about if I like her or not, anyway?" Harry asked, just changing the topic a bit.

Sirius shrugged, sitting back down in the armchair. "Because things have been going well. We've been writing to each other a _lot, _and she hasn't even questioned about the owl. Well, yes she did, and I told her she was yours, and that we _trained _her to do that. Which is true. Well, except for the training part."

For some reason, Harry felt angry. "You've been using Hedwig? And you didn't even _tell _me that you were using her? _Why?_"

Sirius looked taken aback, but quickly recovered. "I thought you wouldn't mind. After all, when we got Hedwig, well all decided that she wouldn't just be one persons' owl but everyone's. Yours, mine and Remus's."

Harry sighed, leaning forward and cupping his chin in his hands. "I'm sorry for acting so … weird, Sirius. I don't know why, either … It's stupid … I'm sorry."

Sirius still had a confused expression on his face, but shook his head and leaned forward, reaching over and putting a hand on Harry's knee. "It's all right, kiddo. Things are changing, you're confused. Maybe even a little … jealous?"

Harry's eyes widened and he stared at Sirius. "You're suggesting that I'm _jealous _because of _Allyson? _Why would you think that? I am _not _jealous, Sirius. I think you're acting a bit too self-centered."

Sirius frowned. "Self-centered? How am I acting self-centered, Harry? I was just asking, and if you were, it's all right! It's all right if you feel that Allyson's intruding or something, but you must know that she's not. If you just _spend _some time with her, maybe you'll see that she's not that bad. You might even grow to enjoy her company."

"Sirius, I already told you that I _liked _Allyson. Why are you doing this, do you _want _me to tell you that I hate her? That I can't stand having her around the house, and then you can launch into some speech about how I might grow to like her? Is that what you want?"

"No!" Sirius scowled at Harry. "You will _not _take that tone with me! Do you hear me, Harry?"

Harry's chest moved up and down rather quickly. Realizing that he had his hands clenched into fists, he let them go and sunk back into the couch.

Sirius seemed to calm down, too. "I want to hear an apology."

Harry looked up at Sirius. "What?"

Sirius face was impassive, as was his voice, and his eyes seemed dull. No liveliness like they used to have. "You heard me, Harry. I want an apology. I will not be spoken to in such a voice, and I'm asking—no, demanding—an apology."

Harry briefly glanced down at his hands, then looked up at met Sirius's gaze before he said, "I'm sorry for raising my voice to you. I won't do it again."

Sirius relaxed and nodded. "OK. I accept your apology."

Harry stood up. "I better be going."

"Why? Nobody's back from Hogsmeade yet. Anyway, we still need to talk. I'll try not to make this too long, but we do."

Harry sat back down and looked at Sirius. "Fine, let's talk."

When nobody spoke for a long period of time, Sirius finally started the conversation back up. "Tell me, honestly, what you think of Allyson. I want a truthful answer, and if I can sense that you're lying, I will be forced to use Veritaserum."

"All right," Harry agreed easily. "I don't like her at all."

_There, Sirius. You got your honest, truthful answer, _Harry thought to himself as he watched his godfather try to scrounge up something to say.

"Thank-you," Sirius said quietly. "Thank-you, Harry. For being honest."

Harry nodded curtly. "You're welcome. Can I go now?"

Sirius shook his head, leaning back into the armchair. "Why don't you like her? I want to know."

"She doesn't like me or Remus. Maybe she likes Remus, but definitely not me. Every time I'm near her I get a bad feeling," Harry explained.

"She's not a Death Eater, if that's what you're implying," Sirius said. "She's a Muggle."

"I'm not implying anything of the sort," Harry replied, keeping his answers short. "She just doesn't like me, so why should I like her?"

Sirius nodded slowly, letting Harry's words sink in before he replied. "And you get a bad feeling from her. I can tell you this, Harry, she's not a bad person. A little childish at times, I'll admit, but that's what makes her fun."

"I'm glad your happy," Harry said truthfully. "I'm glad you like Allyson, and I'm glad she likes you. I've told you what I think, so can I go now? I have homework to catch up on."

Without waiting for Sirius's consent, Harry got up and walked towards the portrait hole. Just as he was about to go through, Sirius came up behind him. In a soft voice, he asked, "Does Remus think the same thing?"

Harry glanced sideways at Sirius. "You better ask him that, not me."

Then he left.

——

A/N: Wow, this was really short. Sorry. I'll update soon … hopefully with a longer chapter …


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The next few days were the hardest for Harry, mostly with his trying to avoid Sirius whenever he had to. It turned out to be harder than he thought, since he _did _have classes with him. And, actually, Harry didn't know why he was avoiding Sirius at all. Except for what had happened a while back; it seemed that was really what it was all about.

But, if Harry really was having any success in avoiding his godfather, it stopped when Sirius came up to him on the weekend just as he was about to go to Hogsmeade with Ron and Hermione. He didn't look pleased.

"We need to have a long, long talk," Sirius said without a greeting as he approached Harry. "I'd like to see you in my chambers, Harry."

"But Hogsmeade—" Harry started without any success. Sirius cut him off.

"You can forget about Hogsmeade. Like I said, we need to talk. This is much more important than Hogsmeade."

"Fine," Harry reluctantly agreed, saying goodbye to his friends. Then, following Sirius down to his chambers, he let there be silence all the way down. When they arrived, Sirius wordlessly said the password and entered, Harry close behind.

"Sit," Sirius said, waving his hand at the couch. "Now I want you to tell me, truthfully, why you've been avoiding me. Is it because of Allyson? Because if it is it's bloody stupid Harry—_you're _being stupid. By avoiding me. No eye contact, no 'hello's or 'goodbye's. No acknowledgement if we pass each other in the halls. Don't even bother trying to tell me that you're not avoiding me, because I know better."

Harry stared at Sirius, completely silent. How could he answer his godfathers' question if he didn't even know the answer for himself? He most definitely wouldn't lie to Sirius again—no, definitely not. He was getting sick of lying. He wanted to be honest with Sirius, like he always used to be.

"I don't know," Harry admitted. "I wasn't _planning _on avoiding you. It just happened."

"We've been through a lot," Sirius said, more softly than before. "Ever since I got you from the Dursleys when you were seven. The car accident … your amnesia … you turning into a baby again … Matt's death"—Harry winced—"Er … What happened to me—well, you know, Harry. The list goes on. This is just another thing, and all of what I've just said? We got through that. We can get through this, too."

"'This'?" Harry repeated, frowning. "What do you _mean, _Sirius? I have to go … maybe they didn't go to Hogsmeade yet … Bye."

Harry got up to leave, but Sirius grabbed hold of his arm. "You're not leaving, Harry. Not until we get this resolved. Besides, I have something I need to tell you."

"Fine," Harry said, sitting back down. "Tell me."

Sirius looked uncomfortable. "Not yet, Harry."

"You wanted to tell me something, but you want to _wait _to tell me?" Harry said, looking confused. "Why not just tell me now?"

"Because we haven't got this resolved yet," Sirius replied. "When we do, I'll tell you."

"What if you're going to tell me something I'm not going to like?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't I get mad at you again?"

Sirius frowned. "I hope not … but …" He shook his head firmly. "I'll just have to take that chance. It's important, but us being on good terms is more important."

"OK," Harry said simply. "I'm not mad at you. I won't avoid you anymore."

"It takes more than just _saying _it," said Sirius. "You have to _mean _it, Harry. Not just say it and get it over with."

"I do mean it!" Harry argued. "I meant it. I won't avoid you anymore, and I'm not mad at you."

Sirius sighed, looking exhausted. Harry didn't mean to make him so exasperated, he just thought that he was doing what he was to make everything better—or as better as it could be. He was saying that he wasn't going to avoid Sirius anymore, wasn't that what his godfather wanted to hear?

"I spoke to Remus," Sirius said out of the blue. "He said that he liked Allyson. I could tell he was lying, even if we weren't speaking face-to-face. It was just the way he wrote, saying how he liked Allyson a little bit more than he should be. Is that what those 'meetings' with you two were about? Allyson?"

Harry looked down at his hands, unable to look into Sirius's eyes. After all, if he did and he lied about that, surely Sirius would be able to tell. In fact, Harry knew that Sirius knew the truth already. Why lie when being honest would make him feel so much more better?

"Yeah," Harry said quietly, followed by a sigh. "Don't take this the wrong way, Sirius. We—or at least _I_—tried to like Allyson. I'm sure Remus did, too. But …" Harry trailed off, letting Sirius fill in the blanks.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again and found himself looking into Sirius's eyes. "Don't hate me for not liking Allyson," he said. "Or Remus. It's not our faults that we feel the way we feel."

Sirius stood up and walked over to Harry, sitting down next to him. Surprisingly, Sirius wrapped an arm around Harry's shoulder and brought the boy in closer for a hug.

"I don't hate you, or Remus. I'd be barmy to hate the two of you. But …" That's when Sirius started looking uncomfortable, and seemed as if he were fighting with himself to spit out what he was going to say next. "Harry, I know how you two feel about her now, but that doesn't change the way _I _feel about her."

Now he started looking very uncomfortable, which seemed almost contagious, since almost immediately Harry started feeling uncomfortable as well.

"You see, Harry," Sirius tried again, "A while ago … I, er … well, the thing is … a week ago I—" Slowly, Sirius inhaled and exhaled, then tried completing his sentence once again. "I sort of … proposed. To Allyson."

It came out as a jumble of mixed words, but Harry was still able to understand what Sirius said, though it was hard to comprehend. Harry stared at Sirius, blinking, thinking over what he said, and he never could. It was almost like a dream, which Harry thought wasn't sounding so bad at that moment. Sirius was getting _married … _to Allyson.

His breathing grew a little faster and he felt his heartbeat quicken just a bit; his mouth felt dry, stolen of all taste, and slowly Harry felt shock course through him.

Allyson. Of all the people in the world, it had to be _her! _Why not that lady that was at Isabella's barbeque that time, as well? Harry tried to think of her name. Wasn't it Amelia Eve? Yes, he was pretty sure that it was. Amelia Eve seemed nice, and she liked Remus, Sirius and himself. She was pretty, as well, so why didn't Sirius go for her?

It just had to be the one person that Harry was not at all fond of.

"Harry?" Sirius searched Harry's face with concerned eyes, but Harry still didn't respond. He was still trying to put everything together. He felt almost … angry at Sirius. Then he knew why.

"You tell me _now?_" Harry exclaimed loudly, startling both himself and Sirius. "Now, of all times? Why didn't you tell me about you thinking of engaging Allyson beforehand? I—I can't believe that you tell me a _week _after you propose!" Then Harry looked down at his hands. "We used to tell each other everything. I'm—"

"You're hurt that I didn't tell you before I proposed to her," Sirius interrupted, finishing Harry's sentence. He let out a long sigh and dropped his head. "Harry, you know that you can tell me stuff. I can tell you stuff, too. I have absolutely know idea why I didn't tell you before I was going to propose to her. You have every right to be hurt and angry with me—"

"Of course I do!" Harry yelled, scowling. "How would you like it, Sirius, if I just told you _now, _about a few days after I did it, that I proposed to a girl?"

Sirius frowned. "Aren't you a little too young to be engaged?"

Harry's scowl never left his face. "Sirius!" After a long, silent, angry gaze at his godfather, Harry spoke again. "How would you feel if I told you that? Just like you're telling me this now?"

"I'd feel the exact same way," Sirius admitted. "I'm so sorry Harry … I don't why I didn't tell you …"

"That's not the only thing I'm angry at," Harry said. "Why did you propose to her when you know that I don't like Allyson? And that Remus doesn't like her, either? Merlin, Sirius—she'd be moving _in _with us! She'd drive us … she'd drive us … _mad!_"

When Harry finally let out a few breaths, he relented. In a lower and softer voice than before, he said, "Did you tell Remus about engaging Allyson?"

This time, it was Sirius who looked down at his hands. "No."

Harry slowly gave his head a half-nod. "You know that, if she does move in, that Remus and I are moving out?"

Sirius head shot up until he met Harry's gaze, his face wearing a surprised and shocked expression. "No, you're not."

Harry frowned at the firmness in Sirius's voice, and shrugged. "I was kidding, but I won't lie and tell you that I wasn't going to think about it."

Slowly he felt all anger leave his body, with only a little remain of it in his stomach.

"That means, since you propose to Allyson, that you told her about being a wizard, didn't you?" Harry said, staring at Sirius.

Sirius's eyes never left Harry's, but he didn't speak. Although, that was all of the answer that Harry needed. Though Sirius said nothing, it said everything.

He did.

—

A/N: Finished! Don't hate me for the long update. I'm sorry. Review! But with two stories going on, you might just see a bit of a 'long' pattern going on with the updates of chapters.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

It was an awkward, silent moment. One which Sirius and Harry had rarely ever had—until now. Harry kept his eyes downward, mainly focusing on his hands. He had nothing to say, but it wasn't that he didn't _want _to say anything. It was just that he couldn't. He couldn't find any words to say; his brain was completely blank.

Sirius, on the other hand, wasn't staring at his hands. He was staring at Harry's face—or rather, _head_—and hoping desperately for him to say something. When it was clear that Harry was going to stay silent, Sirius decided to speak.

"Can you please say something?"

A simple request.

Harry looked up at Sirius. "I did."

"Now, I mean. It's too quiet."

"You were the one not saying anything when I asked you if you told Allyson that you were a wizard. You said nothing and left me to figure it out for myself," Harry pointed out. His face hardened as he continued to stare at his godfather. "Sirius—please answer me honestly—did … did you tell Allyson about Remus and I when you told her about yourself?"

Again, just as before, Sirius said nothing—which explained _everything. _Harry looked away from him, running his fingers through his hair.

"So you did." It came out quiet; soft. Harry made sure he didn't make the same mistake as he continued. "How could you do that? You don't have the right to tell her that! You know I didn't like her in the first place! And _Remus? _You told her about _Remus, _as well? It's his own bloody business, it should be _him _telling _her, _not you. That goes for me, too."

Sirius seemed to be getting just as angry as Harry. "You watch your language! Where do you get off speaking to me like that, Harry? I raised you better."

"Did you?" Harry said his eyebrows raised. He stood up abruptly. "Did you really?" He narrowed his eyes at Sirius; his teeth clenched together. He tried to refrain himself from saying what he did next, but he was so angry, he didn't _care. _"I'd rather live with the Dursleys than with you."

He had expected Sirius to snap. Completely break. To go ballistic, demanding for him to apologise. But he didn't. He was quiet, almost hurt, which gave Harry good satisfaction. It was what he had intended for, to hurt his godfather, just like his godfather hurt him. By proposing to Allyson.

"I can't believe you said that," Sirius said, his voice cracking a bit. "Did you really mean that, Harry?" Harry firmly nodded his head, his teeth clenched together, glaring daggers at Sirius. Sirius slowly nodded his head. "Then I guess taking you away from them was a mistake."

"It sure as hell was," Harry replied coldly. Sirius didn't bother getting after him for his 'language', which wasn't like Sirius at all. But Sirius was hurt, stung, so it didn't surprise Harry that he didn't.

Sirius cleared his throat, staring at Harry in the eyes. "Well, I assume you know where the door is?" His voice was cold and hard. "I have a lot of assignments to correct. You can show yourself the way out."

Harry spun around in fury, making his way out of Sirius's chambers. He knew afterwards he'd feel guilty about speaking to Sirius like that, and possibly Sirius would feel the same, but at that moment he didn't care. He was angry; furious.

"Hey, watch it, Potter."

Harry looked up at the familiar voice to see a familiar face. It was Jedediah Works, and he looked really busy.

"Sorry," Harry muttered, feeling like he should take his anger out on Jedediah. "Why don't you watch where _you're _going, Jemima?"

Jedediah blushed, scowling. "Don't call me that, _Potty._"

"Oh," Harry said coolly. "Was only Willow allowed to call you that? I'm sorry."

Jedediah shook his head, still scowling. "Whatever." He studied Harry. "So … you and Black got in a fight, eh?"

Harry frowned. How'd he know about that? As if reading his mind, Jedediah said, "Well, it was pretty obvious that you were staying at Uncle Julian's and Isabella's because you had some sorta fight with Black. So I thought you must've had another fight."

"Well how do you know I wasn't in a fight with Ron or something?" Harry said irritably. "You don't know."

Jedediah shrugged. "So you wanna come?"

Harry eyed Jedediah suspiciously. "Come where?"

"Honestly, I dunno. Somewhere with a pub," replied Jedediah.

Harry shook his head. "I don't think so."

Jedediah shrugged again, starting to walk away. "Oh, well, I could care less. See you 'round, Potty."

"Wait, Jemima!" Harry yelled. The boy stopped, not bothering to turn around, but stood still, as if to indicate that he was listening. "How about … just one drink, then I'll come back."

Jedediah turned around. "It'll be quite some walk there and back, just to let you know."

Harry shook his head. "So? Good exercise."

"And I don't know where I'm going. Possibly Hogsmeade, if that's even open. Maybe some Muggle place with a pub …?"

Harry shook his head anywhere, stepping forward. "I don't care. Anywhere. Let's go."

——

"If there's nothing open here," Jedediah whispered as he and Harry crept along the streets of Hogsmeade. "Then we'll go some where's else, OK?"

"Sure."

Then, they found themselves in front of a small pub, at least it seemed like it was.

"Here," Jedediah said, leading Harry into the pub.

"Won't someone recognize us?" Harry said as he followed. "They could tell Sirius that we're here."

"So?" Jedediah said, a smirk on his face as he settled down at one of the tables. Harry sat in front of him. "Just relax. What'll you have?"

Harry gave his shoulders a careless shrug. "Butterbeer?"

Jedediah shook his head. "No way. It won't get you drunk enough."

"I don't want to get drunk," Harry said, frowning.

Jedediah gave him a look. "Then why'd you come? Come on, take a chance. It must've been a pretty nasty fight between you and Black, huh?"

Harry felt his face hardened. He looked at Jedediah and said, "You pick."

Jedediah's smirk widened into a grin. "You're leaving this in _my _hands? Well, don't I feel honoured?" His eyes searched for the waitress, and when he spotted her, he yelled, "Hey, you! Waitress! Bring us two of whatever'll get us drunk promptly!"

Everybody in the pub turned to look at the two (which was only four or five people). The waitress gave Jedediah a 'be-patient' look, but nodded anyway.

"So I take it you've never been drunk before?" Jedediah asked Harry, who shook his head. "Well, I'll be sure to tell you that when you are, you'll forget about whatever happened between you and Black. Believe me, it'll make everything easier. It helps me, anyway."

"So why're you here? Just for the heck of it, or is there a reason?"

Jedediah wasn't able to answer any of Harry's questions since the waitress came around with their drinks.

"This better not be butterbeer," Jedediah informed her as she set them down. She gave him another look and, wordlessly, walked away.

Jedediah picked up his cup and sniffed it, then made a face and held his cup out in front of him. "Definitely not butterbeer. So … shall we?"

Harry picked up his cup, glanced at it uneasily, then nodded. He brought it forward, took a sip, and after the whole cup was indulged, both became drunk.

"He-ey, Lady!" Jedediah yelled, waving his cup in the air. "More for two!"

"I hope none of you are flying," the waitress said as she came over with a refill.

Harry shook his head and banged his fist down on the table. "Noooope."

When she finished refilling both their cups, Harry turned to look at Jedediah. "So, Jemima, what up with you?"

"Parents are gettin' divorced," Jedediah mumbled as he took another gulp. "It—uh …" Jedediah stopped drinking and scratched his head. Already he forgot what he was going to say. With a careless shrug he took another gulp of the alcohol.

"Guess wha'?" Harry said. "Sirius's gettin' _married, _and to a right bitch!"

Jedediah laughed, and then started hiccupping. "Poor yooz!"

"Yah," Harry said, nodding his head. "I hates him nowz, though. He can go shag Ally—_son _ash mush ash he wants—I dun't care no more!"

"Hey Lady!" Harry yelled, standing up. "Gimme spoonz!"

"What d'you need spoons for?" the waitress yelled back.

"Just gimme 'em!" Harry yelled irritably, walking over to her and holding his hands out. With a sigh and a glare, she placed one spoon onto his head. "More, more!" he thrust his hand out again.

"What you needs spoons for?" Jedediah asked, drinking some more, as Harry walked over. Harry grinned, taking a swig of his own drink, then started banging the spoons on top of his head.

"I love, I love, I love my calendar girl," Harry sang, very much out of tune, while still banging spoons on his head.

Jedediah started laughing. "Stupid song. Next one."

"Walk, walk, walk, walk. Walk like a man! Uh .. Shomthing, shomthing … He said walk like a man, talk like a man, walk like a man! I'm gonna walk like a man, fast as I can!"

Jedediah emptied his bottle, then tried to get the waitresses attention. "Lady! I want spoons! Spoons!"

"No spoons," the waitress snapped. "And my name's not 'Lady', it's Judy!"

"Judish!" Jedediah yelled, scowling. "More thish, then!"

"I'm cutting you off, young man," Judy said. "Shouldn't you be up at the school? It's dark out."

"I WANT MORE!" Jedediah yelled, throwing his cup on the ground. "More!"

Judy sighed and took off her apron. "Come on, you two. I'm closing up and taking you back to Hogwarts. I should've cut you two off ages ago—what was I thinking?"

"Get yur hand off me!" Jedediah scowled as Judy grabbed onto his arm and tried to tug him outside. Jedediah turned around and grabbed onto Harry's arm, who was still singing and banging spoons on his head. "C'mon Potty … Rape! RAPE!"

Judy let go and scowled at Jedediah. "I am doing _no _such thing." She eyed Harry. "Was this is first time drinking? I can tell by you that it's not your first, but him …"

"Dunno," Jedediah replied, getting out of Judy's grasp. "Yesh … dunno …"

"If it is," Judy looked worried, "he shouldn't of had that much—Young man! Stop banging those spoons on your head this instant! Now, both of you, come with me. I'm taking you back up to the school."

"RAPE! RAPE!"

Harry let the spoons drop, but once he stood up, he started to sway. Maybe he was banging the spoons too hard on his head, because just then, he crumpled to the floor, unconscious.

——

A/N: Hello people! Here's the next chapter … R and R!


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Oh—oh my," Judy said, her face paling. She let Jedediah go and went over to Harry, bending down and putting the boy flat on his back. She looked him over, and he seemed to be fine. Unconscious, but fine.

"YOOZ!" Jedediah yelled, pointing his finger at Judy. "You! Yooz killed him! And yooz raped! MURDER! RAPE! HELP! HELP! MURDER, RAPE!"

"Shut up!" Judy yelled, standing up and grabbing Jedediah's arm as he continued to yell, "Murder, rape, help, help!"

"Leggo me!" Jedediah tore out of her grasp and ran—more like stumbled—out of the pub and slowly (but he thought he was as fast as lightning) made his way to the castle.

"MURDER!" Jedediah yelled while hiccupping as he burst through the doors. Nobody was in sight. That made him mad. This was important, why wasn't anybody around? Somebody murdered Harry and raped him. There had to be someone.

"HELP! Someone, peaz!" Jedediah tried again as he stumbled through the corridor. Finally, he saw someone walking through the corridor and tried to get their attention. "HELP! HELP ME! HELP!"

The figure hurried down the corridor to where Jedediah was.

"Blacks," Jedediah said, adding a plural to Sirius's surname. "Help. Rape! Judish raped and murdered!"

With a frown, Sirius studied Jedediah closely. "You're drunk."

"Potty!" Jedediah yelled furiously. "Judish murdered Potty! Down the pub!"

"What?" Sirius frowned. "You're talking craziness. And you're drunk. C'mon—"

"Harry!" Jedediah tried again, trying to stand himself up. "Harry murdered by Judish!"

Sirius helped the drunk boy up, his face looking unsure. "What do you mean Harry was murdered by … Judish? Was he … was he with you? Tell me what happened."

"Come," he hiccupped, pulling on Sirius's arm. "Follow. Come."

-

"Thank god," Judy said in pure relief as she saw Sirius and Jedediah come into sight. "A sane person at last! This boy, can you help me with this boy?"

"There!" Jedediah yelled, dramatically pointing his finger at Judy in triumph. "Judish! Murdered Harry!"

Judy scowled. "My name is _Judy, _not Judish. And I murdered no one—he fainted."

Sirius quickly went into the pub and saw Harry sitting on the floor, unconscious, his back resting against a seat. He bent down and put an arm around Harry's shoulder, trying to get him up.

"Tell me what happened, Judy," Sirius said to the waitress. "Tell me everything."

"These two boys came into the pub asking for something to get them drunk the fastest. I was too busy to take any notice of them, so I gave them some. They asked for refills of the stuff, I gave it to them. Just doing my job. Then," Judy started to look angry. She pointed at Harry. "This one here asked for spoons."

"Spoons?" Sirius repeated, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"Yep. Spoons. Wanna know why? He took two spoons—not plastic, might I add—and started _banging _them on his bloody head! Singing songs!"

"Walk like a man," Jedediah spoke up, leaning against a booth with a smile.

"Yeah. _Walk like a man._ Not very good, either. Of course he was drunk, I don't know how well he sings when he was sober, but when I tried to get them out this one—" she pointed to Jedediah, who looked triumphant, "—started saying that I was _raping _him. Then the other stood up, then fell down. Unconscious. I think it was the spoons."

Sirius went down on his knees, Harry in his lap, and started gently hitting Harry's cheek. "Come on, Harry. Wake up."

The boy didn't respond.

"Here," Judy said, coming over with a tall glass of what looked like water. "Just pour it over his face. Ice cold usually does the trick."

Sirius tipped the glass above Harry's face, letting the water fall onto Harry's face. Slowly the boy opened his eyes, looking sick.

"My head hurts," Harry complained. He sat up and then threw up in front of him, holding his stomach as he did so.

Judy made a face at the mess, but went over and got another glass of water for Harry to take slow sips on before she cleaned up the vomit.

"Merlin," Harry muttered, looking exhausted as he leaned into Sirius. "Never ever again …"

"Sip this," Sirius said, putting the glass of water to Harry's lips. "You're still drunk. Not as drunk as before, I think, but still a bit drunk."

Harry shook his head, moving his head away from the cup. "No more drinks."

Then he abruptly sat up and puked again.

"Come on," Sirius said with a sigh, helping Harry up. "Up to the castle. You too, Mr Works."

Jedediah drunkenly followed, throwing at glare at Judy the waitress.

-

Sirius had taken Jedediah to the hospital wing, and then took Harry to his chambers. Maybe after the vomiting stopped Harry could tell him why he got drunk, if he already didn't fall asleep.

But when Sirius went into Harry's room to see him, the boy had already fallen asleep. So, Sirius gently climbed in beside him until Harry awoke.

-

"Harry?" Sirius called out the next morning as he woke up to find an empty place beside him where Harry had slept the night before. No answer from Harry, but the sound of spewing from the bathroom gave Sirius his reply.

Sirius waited with a cup of water in his hands for Harry to come out of the bathroom, and when he did, Sirius immediately gave it to him.

"Drink."

Harry took the drink, but eyed it suspiciously, like it might be a Potion. As if reading his mind, Sirius gave Harry a look and said, "It's not a Potion if that's what you're thinking. It's plain water."

Harry took a small sip, then walked over and set it on the nightstand.

"I better go," he said curtly, without giving any reason as to why.

"You get drunk," Sirius said, looking at Harry, "and I lay beside you all night watching you, barely getting any sleep in case you wake up in the middle of the night needing something, and after I do that you just want to _leave_? That's it?"

Keeping his face impassive and straight, Harry gave his shoulders a small shrug. "Thanks."

"No, no," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Sit down and tell me _why _you decided to get drunk. That's not like you at all."

"I met Jedediah in the halls," Harry said briefly. "He told me where he was going and invited me along. I wasn't in a very good mood then, as you know, so I said … yes."

"So you went with Jedediah Works to get drunk and bang spoons on your head singing 'Walk Like A Man'?"

Harry gave his head a half-nod. "I—_What? _I really did that? No wonder I have a lump on my head."

"I just don't understand why you'd do that," Sirius said, shaking his head. "Why?"

"Why?" Harry repeated, looking furious. "You're seriously asking me why? I just learn that you proposed to a _bitch_—the worst kind out there! The only person she likes in the house is _you!_ Imagine, once you two get married, how she'll treat Remus and I! It'll be horrible, then we really will have to move out!"

"That's … not true," Sirius said. "And _don't _call her a bitch, Harry. She's not."

"Whatever," Harry said, shaking his head. "You just don't see. That or you don't want to see. I mean—why Allyson? Why not Amelia Eve? She was nice. _Why Allyson?_"

Harry glared at Sirius one last time before turning around and leaving Sirius to think.

And he did. He let what Harry had said go through his mind, and after a few moments of trying to think, he realized the same thing: Why Allyson?

But, he already knew the answer to that. Just the way she acted, so friendly and playful at times, almost like a teenager. Those things made her attractive to Sirius, and if only Harry and Remus saw the things in Allyson that he saw in her, maybe things would've turned out differently.

Sirius was definitely not going to leave Allyson, though. No. Whether or not Remus and Harry didn't like her, he was still going to marry her.

-

A/N: I realize it was a bit short. Sorry. I'll update soon.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Everything was going horribly wrong. Both Sirius and Harry knew it, but neither tried to do anything to fix it. Not one of them spoke to each other at any time—not even in classes. In DADA, which used to be his favourite subject, Harry barely paid attention anymore.

The Christmas holidays were approaching, quicker it seemed, than usual. Harry didn't know how he'd get through those. This year, Harry was supposed to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays because every year since Harry started Hogwarts, both Remus and Sirius shared Harry. One year for Christmas, Harry might stay with Sirius; but then the next year, Harry'd go home to Remus to spend them with him.

Thankful that it was finally the (it seemed ages) weekend, Sirius sat on the edge of the bed holding a letter that he had just gotten from Allyson. He hadn't read what it said yet, and he didn't know why he was waiting. While trying to think of a reason (and coming up with nothing), he started to unfold the paper to see Allyson's neat, precise writing.

_Sirius,_

I'm so sorry that Harry reacted to the news this … unexpectedly. I realize that he doesn't like me very much, so this is what I'm offering to do: During the Christmas holidays, maybe you could send Harry over here, to my place to spend it with me? Harry and I would be the only ones there, which would be good, so I could spend a bit of time with him, so we could sort of get to know each other. Maybe after the holidays Harry might come to … let's say … enjoy my company. After all, after we get married, we'll all be living together, won't we?

The decision to accept this offer is completely up to you, Siri. I'll understand if you want to spend the Christmas holidays with him yourself, but if he spends Christmas with me, perhaps when he comes back things'll be better between the two of you? And, as I said before, it'll be good for Harry and I. We'll get to spend some time with each other.

Think it through, don't rush to respond. I love you.

Love,  
Allyson

Sirius stared at Allyson's small, tidy signature. Spending the Christmas holidays with Allyson might actually be good for Harry, like Allyson had said herself. If Harry just spent quality time with her, then maybe … maybe Harry would come to like her, then things would work itself out like they used to be.

He slowly folded the letter up, his mind thinking through things once more. Yeah … maybe Harry and Allyson spending the holidays together was a good idea. In fact, maybe even a brilliant one.

Then, he set the folded piece of parchment beside him and stood up, looking for another piece of parchment, a quill and ink, so he could write back to his fiancée with the answer.

-

"Where are you going, Harry?" Hermione asked, looking up from the book she was reading in the common room as she noticed Harry walking towards the portrait hole.

"I just need to send Remus a letter," Harry replied, turning around to face Hermione. "About the holidays."

"Oh, right." Hermione nodded, putting her index finger on the page she was reading and then closing it. "Isn't it Sirius's turn this year, though?"

"Yeah," Harry said slowly. "But I don't think I'm up to it. Spending the Christmas holidays with him, that is."

"OK." Hermione flipped the book back open and continued reading, while Harry resumed walking out the portrait hole and into the Owlery.

Harry played with the edge of the parchment as he made his way to the Owlery, wondering if he should send the letter or not. What if he did stay with Sirius for the holidays and they were able to reconcile? But what if he didn't, and he missed the chance for the reconciliation? But … what if he _did _stay, and they ended up avoiding each other for the whole time?

Harry stopped in the middle of the corridor, wanting to make up his mind before we went any further. He let the questions run through his mind, and only one answer was available for each of them: He'd just have to pick one and hope that he chose the best.

Letting out a breath, Harry started towards the Owlery again, only to turn around once he heard someone calling his name. He saw Sirius running through the corridor towards him, and once he was near enough to Harry, Harry noticed that his godfather seemed partly excited, partly nervous.

Harry sighed, deciding to use as much of a nice voice as he could muster. "What is it, Professor?"

Well, it wasn't exactly 'nice'—it was more cold and curt, but Harry did the best he could.

"You know, we're not in class," Sirius pointed out. He looked as if he wanted to say something more, but then decided against it and kept quiet.

"I know," Harry replied.

"So … er … I went to the common room, and Hermione told me you were sending a letter to Remus."

Harry nodded. "Yeah. So?"

"Well … er … speaking of letters, I got one from Allyson today."

Harry slowly nodded, not exactly sure where Sirius was going by telling him this rather useless news. "… So?"

"Well, she had this idea. It was actually a pretty good idea—I think you'll enjoy it … eventually," Sirius replied uncomfortably. "Well, you see, I already wrote her back saying that it would be perfectly OK and now I came to tell you what it was about."

"OK," Harry said, waiting for Sirius to tell him about the letter, but when he didn't, Harry decided to step in again. "So, are you going to tell me what the letter was about?"

"Right. Well … she _suggested _… that instead of spending the holidays with me this Christmas, that why not you spend them with her? I really think that this'll be a good chance for you two to get to know each other a bit more, and, possibly even like her a bit more."

"And you said yes to this?" Harry yelled, shocked. He couldn't believe that Sirius didn't even bother asking him in the first place if he wanted to go. He just went right along and said yes.

"Well … yes," Sirius said, nodding his head. After a while, he nodded his head again, this time a bit more confidently. "Yes I did. And you know why I did this without even asking you? Because, this time, you're not going to have a choice. You're going to go to Allyson's this Christmas, be nice to her and try to have a nice time."

"What?" Harry's eyes widened. "What do you mean by 'this time you're not going to have a choice?' Lately, everything you do that involves me, you don't give me a choice with. So what's with this 'this time'?"

"I'm not arguing with you," Sirius said firmly. "I'm sorry. I've been way too kind to you. I should've at least punished you for getting drunk, or even yelled at you. But, somehow—I don't see how now—I let it slide. It'll never happen again."

"Good!" Harry yelled, scowling. "Because I don't plan on getting drunk again!"

"Well …" Clearly Sirius was at a loss for words. "That's … that's good! You better not!"

"I won't," Harry said. "But I'm just going to let you know that I'm just as mad at you as you are with me. Maybe even a little madder. You do everything without asking me, where it at least involves me. First you propose to Allyson without even telling me first, and then … this." Harry sighed. "There's probably a lot more things you did, but I'm too mad to remember them."

"Well, when you do, be sure to come down to my chambers and inform me," Sirius said sarcastically. "Now you're going to Allyson's for Christmas. Do you understand me?"

"Absolutely," Harry muttered, pushing past Sirius as he went back to the common room, having no need to send the letter to Remus since Harry was going to be spending the Holidays with Satan him (or rather her) self.

"And don't expect me to write you any letters when I get there!" Harry called over his shoulder.

"I'm not holding my breath," Sirius called after him.

-

"Wow, look at Potty going off in such a huff." Jedediah's voice broke into Harry's thoughts as he slowly made his way to the Gryffindor common room. Since he was looking down at the ground as he walked, he didn't notice the boy approach him.

"Go 'way," Harry muttered, not bothering to look up as he pushed past the Slytherin.

"Aw, in a bad mood, are we?" Jedediah called in a know-it-all voice. "Poor Potty. Still having troubles with your godfather?"

"Shut it," Harry yelled, spinning around to glare at Jedediah. "What's going on in my life is _none _of your business, Jedediah!"

Jedediah held his hands out in front of his face, taking a step backwards with the smirk still in place. "Going to hit me on the head with a couple of spoons?"

Harry's eyes narrowed. "How do you remember that?"

"Oh, come off it," Jedediah said, lowering his hands. "I heard Dumbledore and Black talking the day after … well, everything." he grinned. "Black mentioned how both of us got drunk, and what we did."

"What we did?" Harry repeated. "What did we do?"

"Well," Jedediah started, "obviously you did what you did—banging spoons on your head—and I was saying some ridiculous things. Nobody said what."

Harry turned around, walking away. He didn't feel like talking to Jedediah; he hadn't spoken to the boy during any of the times they had detention (for getting drunk) together, and he wasn't going to plan on talking to the Slytherin now.

Harry was extremely mad when he went back to the common room, and he wasn't exactly in a talkative mood when he found Hermione still in the same chair reading the same book, but Hermione was sure able to question him.

"Did you send the letter?" She asked, looking up from her book.

Harry avoided her gaze. "No."

"Why not?"

"I got held up," Harry replied curtly, and without another word started up to his dorm.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked before Harry could go any further up the steps. His shoulders sagging, Harry turned around to face his friend, and he realized he didn't have to take his anger out on her. She was just wondering what happened.

He sighed before explaining. "Sirius is what's wrong."

"Oh," Hermione frowned apologetically. "I'm sorry, he must've told you that I told him where you were. I thought that he was going to find you so you two could work things out … I—"

"It doesn't matter," Harry said, shaking his head as he descended a few steps. "He came to tell me what Allyson wrote to him asking if I could spend the holidays with her. Without asking me first, we went along and wrote back to her saying that I would."

"I'm sorry," Hermione said. "I _know _how much you don't like her. Maybe this'll be good, though?"

Harry shrugged. "Sirius said that maybe it would, too. I don't think so, though. It's going to be a horrible time with her. You know, I'd rather spend the holidays with Sirius instead of Allyson." Harry sighed unnecessarily. "I'd choose Sirius any day."

"I know you would," responded Hermione. "But things'll work out. I have a good feeling they will."

Harry nodded. "Yeah, thanks."

-

Sirius knew he should've asked Harry first. It was wrong to just immediately say yes without his permission first, since it had everything to do with his godson, but he was just too mad. Everything between him and Harry seemed to be going horribly wrong.

He took his time going back to his chambers, making sure to go slow through the corridors. He used this time to think about everything that had been going on.

Was it the right thing to do by saying yes? What if things went all wrong between Allyson and Harry? What if … The next thought made Sirius cringe, but he couldn't take it out of his mind. _What if while at Allyson's, Harry ran away?_

If he did, he most likely would go to Remus's, or even Isabella's, so Sirius tried not to worry that much about it. Still, what if Harry did something he'd later regret?

Pushing every single thought out of his mind, Sirius continued to slowly make his way to his chambers. The Christmas holidays were in the _near, _near future … so time would eventually tell.

-

A/N: Thanks for the reviews, everybody! Sorry for the long wait for this chapter, but for some reason it wouldn't let me upload this. It's working now, though, so again: thanks!


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"This is ridiculous," Harry said to Ron and Hermione, scowling. "How could Sirius do this?" Harry shook his head in disgust. "Spending the holidays with _Allyson._"

"Good luck, mate," Ron said sympathetically. "Write to us when you get there."

Harry nodded, holding onto a bit of his luggage. "Yeah, OK. See you after the holidays."

Harry quickly turned away and out of the great hall after he had caught Sirius's eye from the staff table. He wanted to make sure that he'd make it out of Hogwarts without having to talk to his godfather.

The train ride seemed short to Harry, to his disappointment. He had wanted the train to go slowly to the station because he actually didn't want to go there. After all, Allyson would be there, and he _didn't _want to talk to Allyson right then.

He was greeted by Allyson, who wore a multicoloured scarf, a matching hat and a long, beige winter coat. She had a cheery, perky look to her, which made Harry want to be sick.

"Hello," she said once she noticed him. "Really nice weather, isn't it? I love it when it snows."

Harry said nothing, but nodded.

She guided him towards her car, making a conversation along the way. "As you know, Harry, Sirius told me about everything, so no secrets will be hidden from each other." She grinned, glancing at Harry. "You know what else? I think we'll have a _really, really _good holiday together."

Harry put on a fake smile as he loaded his luggage into the back of the car. "Yep. So do I."

When, in fact, he knew almost already that this was going to be the most painful Christmas he'd ever had to endure.

-

"So, this is my house," Allyson said, motioning her hands towards a neat, peach colored house with a trim lawn. "When Sirius and I get married, we'll have to choose which house we want to live in. Mine or your guys'. I'm actually hoping I'll get him to choose _this _one."

Harry wanted to argue, to tell her that they weren't going to move into her house when she and Sirius were married. Too many things happened in their house—good things—and Harry didn't want to throw all of his memories away.

"Let me take those," Allyson said, latching onto Harry's luggage. As she led Harry up to her front door, she said, "Siri told me about you getting drunk that night. I just wanted to let you know, that please, while you're at my house, if you could not sneak out and get drunk again. Siri would have my head if he found out."

She giggled as she opened the door. "We have a few more rules to go over while you're here, too."

"OK," Harry said slowly.

"And actually," Allyson mused carefully, closing the door and setting down Harry's luggage. Before Harry could take a breath, she had grabbed onto Harry's arms, digging her nails into his flesh. "I'm not going to take any little thing that you do," she said through clenched teeth. "You will behave and stay in your room for the rest of the holidays."

"What?" Harry gasped, trying to squirm out of her grasp. No success.

"You heard me, Potter," Allyson said, shoving him to the ground. Harry was surprised at her strength. "Sirius is the perfect man. He's got good looks, is nice and … hell … there's a bonus! He's a _wizard. _A bloody wizard. The only imperfection? _You. _You are Sirius's life, and it makes me sick."

"What do you mean?" Harry still couldn't comprehend anything that was going on. He moved back from Allyson.

"Of course you wouldn't understand it, Potter," Allyson sneered. "But from now on, after Sirius and I are married, things will change. First off: I'll make sure that you're cut out of the picture. How does a boarding school in America sound?"

"You can't do that!" Harry scowled. "How are you going to accomplish that anyway?"

"I have my ways," replied Allyson. She looked smug.

"Why are you sending me to a _boarding school? _How come you don't like me so much? I did absolutely nothing to you, Allyson."

"Why do you not like me so much?" Allyson then giggled. "Never mind, don't answer that, I already know! Now … why do I dislike you so much? Because if you stayed around, Potter, you'd only be in the way. _I _want to have children with Sirius, and I doubt that would ever happen with you around."

"How do you know?" Harry asked. "How would I get in the way?"

"To Sirius, you're like his son, not his godson," Allyson explained. "You're all he ever talked about. I'm not sure Sirius would want another child with you around, so you've got to go."

"I'm sure that's not true," Harry argued. "Sirius _does _want kids, other than me, I'm sure."

Allyson shrugged, as if it didn't matter. "Still, like I've said, you've got to go."

"Yes, I do," Harry said, scrambling to his feet as he tried to rush past Allyson out the door. Allyson grabbed his arms, her long nails sinking into his skin like needles.

"You're not going anywhere."

Allyson pushed Harry into the nearest room, locking the door. Quickly, she tried to find something that would do the job … and then she found it.

"Aw, did poor Potter hit his head?" Allyson asked in a babyish voice as she opened the door, noticing Harry on the ground, massaging his head. He was only half conscious.

Allyson bent down, poising the razor over Harry's arm. "This'll only hurt a bit, I promise."

She stuck the razor in Harry's arm, making long, deep gashes in his arm. Harry screamed out in pain, only making Allyson giggle.

"Why?" Harry managed out. He sounded as if he wanted to add more to it, but couldn't.

"Isn't it obvious? Sirius wouldn't want you anymore if he ever found out that you're cutting yourself, Potter."

"I—I—I'm not."

"No, but he won't believe you, will he?"

Harry felt his head swim as he tried to avert his gaze from the blood that ran down his arm. "How do you know that he won't? This is … sick …"

Allyson stopped to stare at Harry's arm, then set the razor aside. With a cheery, perky smile, she said, "In a few hours I'll be back for the next arm. 'Kay?" then left, leaving Harry dizzy and feeling sick.

Before he was dragged into a room of unconsciousness, Harry realized that he was right: It _was _going to be a _painful _Christmas.

-

"Oh, Harry?" Allyson called to Harry in a sing-song voice, opening the room to peer into the cold, dark room. Harry still lay in the corner of the room, his head leaning back into the wall.

"Sirius would kill me if I didn't feed you. Should I get you something, or are you not feeling hungry?"

"Sirius would kill you if you didn't feed me?" Harry repeated, his voice soft as he cradled his arm. "You think that's all he'll kill you for?"

Allyson put on a forced smile. "So I suppose that that's a no? Well … OK then."

And she left, slamming the door shut (loudly) behind her, leaving Harry in the same position. He cringed as the door shut and tried to use his uninjured arm to wipe away the blood on the other arm.

It stung as he did so, and so he decided to just let it be. He couldn't get over the fact that Allyson would do this, since it seemed so … not like her. Of course Harry didn't like her at all, but taking a razor and slitting his wrists?

Suddenly, the door opened again, and Allyson stepped in with a scowl on her face. "I don't appreciate the way you talked to me, just then—"

"Oh?" Harry said. "I don't appreciate what you're doing to _me, _either."

"Don't interrupt me!" She shrieked, stomping her foot on the floor. "If you keep this up, then I'll do your other wrist _right now!_ But since I'm such a generous person, I won't cut them until tomorrow or something."

Harry glowered at the woman, keeping quiet. Finally, Allyson made a little noise that sounded like 'humph', and left, leaving Harry, once again, alone.

-

A/N: Erm … not a LONG chapter at all. Sorry, but R and R.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

"No quills, no parchment, no owl," Harry moaned, cradling both his wounded arms against his chest. His butt and back were both sore from sitting on the cold, hard ground and leaning against the wall. "No Sirius, no Ron, no Hermione, no Remus … no Isabella."

Harry sucked in a sharp breath as the pain in his arms came back to life with a vengeance. So far Allyson had cut his wrists—both of them—twice.

"Oooh!"

Allyson threw open the door to Harry's dark room. Still, she didn't help him up onto the lone bed. He still stay in the corner of the room on the floor. 

"Look!" Allyson continued, waving a piece of parchment in front of Harry's face. A smug smile slowly crept onto her face. "Guess what this is!"

Harry gave her a disgusted look. "It's parchment, obviously. Are you blind or just stupid?"

Allyson's smug look vanished, a cold, disgusted look of her own replaced it. "Just shut up, you brat. No manners whatsoever," she spat, glaring at Harry. "But _yes, _it is parchment, but guess who from? Huh? No guesses? Oh, well, it's from _Sirius. _He's replying to the terrible letter I sent him earlier."

Harry froze. "_Terrible _letter? What did it say?"

"Oh," Allyson started, waving her hand. "You know … _stuff. _'How was your day, how could Harry do that?' the usual."

"What do you mean 'how could Harry do that'?" Harry repeated, paling.

"Oh, well in the letter _I _wrote to him I told him that I found a whole bunch of towels absolutely soaked in blood, and then I said that I confronted you about it. I finally got you to talk and you said to me that you started cutting your wrists because of everything that you're going through. You said that you do it because it helps you in a way, that it comforts you."

Harry's mouth slowly opened, completely sinking into disgust. How could she have said that?

"I—I don't, though," he argued. "How can Sirius believe that?"

"Because he knows that it could possibly be something that you'd actually possibly do!" Allyson replied. "After all, you did get drunk. And that was just because you found out that Sirius and I were getting married. Here, here, let me read you a bit from the letter he sent me."

Allyson's eyes shuffled through the letter until she found a part and read out loud.

"This is from the very first part of what Sirius wrote. 'He _what? _Are you absolutely sure that he's cutting his wrists? It doesn't sound like something he'd do … then again, he did get drunk … but are you _sure? _How can this happen? Why? Well, I know why. It's because we're getting married. Harry can't stand that or something … but to cut his wrists?'"

Allyson gave Harry a look before searching for another part.

"He also added here, 'I should come to your place and get him. I can't let him stay the whole Christmas holidays while he's doing … _that. _When should I come pick him up?' Of course, I'm going to try to get him into leaving you here." She smiled sweetly. "Wouldn't spending more time with me be even more fun? I think so."

"Oh, yes," Harry said sarcastically. "I think I'd absolutely die if I left."

"I'm doing this for your own good," Allyson said matter-of-factly. "You don't like me, I don't like you. If your off to a boarding school, we won't have to deal with each other."

"Sirius deserves so much more better than you," Harry spat out. "He won't believe anything that you say."

"He already has!" Allyson laughed. "You two are so … Oh, I can't even find the word. Things haven't been going well between you, have they? With you getting drunk and your fights with Sirius … he's probably too pissed to even look at you."

"I'm his godson," Harry argued. "He raised me since I was little. He'll believe me."

"Oh?" Allyson nodded slowly, throwing the letter down at Harry's feet. "Read the letter. It doesn't exactly sound like he believes you. Oh, and Potter? You're not feeling woozy anymore, are you? I can tell, so I'm going to start locking the door so you can't get out." She grinned smugly. "Thank god I don't have any windows in this room."

Harry looked around, taking it again. She was right—there were no windows. That was probably the reason for it being so dark. Glaring at Allyson as she left, Harry leaned over to pick up the letter, and as he read it, he realized that Allyson was right: Sirius didn't believe him.

-

Harry woke up to the feeling a lot better and stronger than he had been in a while. He didn't know what day it was, for it felt like he was locked up in the room for weeks. His arms were slowly beginning to heal, but soon enough Harry knew that Allyson would be back with the razor.

Through the darkness in the room, Harry managed to find the door. He fiddled with the doorknob, amazed when he found that it wasn't locked. As he opened the door, the light blinded him, but he slowly made his way through it.

"Harry? Oh, you're finally able to stand!" Allyson stood in the living room, by the fire. She had something in her hands, and a smile on her face. "I have something to show you."

Harry watched as she lit the fire, holding up what Harry realized to be a package. Bending over, Allyson threw the package into the fire, watching as it turned a crisp black and the edges started to curl, slowly disintegrating.

"Oops," she said carelessly, throwing in another letter. Then she threw in another package, larger this time, and then more letters. Harry wondered why the woman was burning her mail, but then he understood: it wasn't _her _mail, it was _his._

"Isn't Christmas just absolutely the best time of the year?" Allyson asked, looking up from the fire with a grin. "It just happens to be my favourite holiday. Especially when I get to spend it with my fiancé's godson."

"You're pathetic," Harry spat out, eyeing the woman in disgust. "What did Sirius ever see in you to actually … _propose _to you?"

"Obviously something you didn't."

"Meaning?"

"He saw something you didn't. You really are observant, though, I must admit … no wonder you didn't like me," Allyson continued, smiling still. "You knew I was up to something, right? Didn't you try to tell Sirius and Remus about it? They didn't listen, did they? Only Isabella did, didn't she?"

Harry turned away, glancing at the door.

"It must hurt that Remus and Sirius didn't listen to you," Allyson said, slowly walking towards Harry. "After all, they raised you, right? They should trust you and what you think."

Allyson reached out, grabbing Harry's arm and studying his wrists. "They're healing nicely. Wait here, all right? I have to find it again."

Allyson took two steps forward, then froze when she heard a sound behind her. Harry turned around, as did Allyson (more slowly than Harry did) and a smile graced her face as she saw Sirius standing in the fireplace.

-

Harry didn't know what to say, or what to do. Allyson, however, did. She rushed over to Sirius, throwing her arms around his neck and giving him a kiss.

"I'm so glad you're here!" She said, her voice becoming urgent to Sirius. "I don't know what to do about it! I was just … talking to Harry," she paused, glancing over at Harry, who couldn't help but have a confused look on his face, "and trying to find out why he was cutting his wrists."

Harry's mouth opened in astonishment. More lies. "What? I'm not cutting my wrists! I swear I'm not!"

Sirius disentangled himself from Allyson, walking towards Harry. He had a stern and a rather … sad look on his face.

"If you're telling the truth," he started, "that you're not cutting your wrists, show me them."

"What?"

"You're wrists. Show me them!"

Harry stared at Sirius for a while, then turned his arms over to show Sirius his wrists. There were red lines down them. Sirius let out a noise, turning away.

"I didn't do them," Harry said firmly. "Allyson did. I wouldn't cut my wrists, Sirius, you have to believe me. I _wouldn't._"

"Oh? And why would Allyson cut your wrists? It doesn't make sense," Sirius said, looking at Harry again.

"She wants to send me to boarding school," Harry spat out. "Far away from here. From you, and Remus. I forget why."

"Oh, so you forget why? You should come up with better lies, Harry," Sirius snapped. "My god, how can this have happened?"

"I didn't cut my wrists!" Harry yelled, scowling at Sirius. "Why can't you believe that? You know what, just go get the razor that Allyson used anyway! Go to that place where … where they check for fingerprints! It'll show that the fingerprints on that razor are Allyson's—_not mine!_"

Feeling that, since Sirius was here, Allyson wouldn't be able to prevent him from leaving, and that Sirius would be too stunned to stop him either, Harry flew to the door, making sure to slam it shut on the way out.

He had no clue where his feet were taking him to, but he knew that he'd go anywhere. Anywhere, except there.

-

Harry stopped in front of the house. Apparently, that 'anywhere' happened to be Isabella's house. And then, he knew exactly why.

He stepped up to the threshold, knocking on the door. It was Isabella who answered the door. Her eyes widened from surprise, and without a word she opened the door farther, inviting him in.

"This is definitely a surprise," Isabella said. "Aren't you suppose to be in school or something?"

"Christmas holidays," Harry replied, panting. Sucking in a deep breath, Harry let it out and started talking again. "You still have their phone numbers, right?"

Isabella tilted her head, looking confused. "Who's phone number?"

"_Them!_" Harry said impatiently, waving his arms around wildly. "From that … _day. _I—I know you must have them, or at least one of their phone numbers, because you wanted to keep in touch with her. Can you please tell me?"

"I need to know who 'her' is first, and why you need them," Isabella said. Her smile soon turned into a frown. "You're running away, aren't you? You're running away from Sirius."

Harry gave her a desperate look. "_Please, _Mrs. Jessup, you keep in touch with her, I'm pretty sure you do. Can you give me Nevaeh Maeve's number?"

"Nevaeh Maeve?" Isabella repeated, staring at Harry. "You're running away to Massachusetts?"

Harry closed his eyes. "Please. I need her number."

"I'm not sure if Sirius would—"

"SCREW SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, looking furious. "Please! I need Nevaeh Maeve's phone number! Can you please, please give it to me?"

Isabella nodded quickly. "Y—yeah. Wait here, OK?"

Harry watched as Isabella hurried towards her room, and then later came out with a piece of paper. She handed it to him.

"It's Nevaeh Maeve's phone number. Do you want to call her here?"

Harry shook his head, already opening the door. "No, thanks. Thanks, for this, Mrs. Jessup. I really needed it."

Isabella nodded uncertainly. "I guess."

She watched Harry leave, and realized that she may have just made a big mistake in giving Harry that phone number.

-

"Hello?"

Immediately Harry remembered Nevaeh Maeve's cheery voice. He glanced at the door, hoping that Remus wouldn't walk into their house anytime soon.

"Hi," Harry started. "This is Harry. Harry Potter? I—I'm a friend of Charlie's. I was wondering if you knew his phone number."

"Sure." There was a pause, before she continued. "Your voice sounds familiar."

"Yeah. We met a while ago, actually, at the airport. I was with my godfather at the time, you may not remember—"

"Yes, yes, I do!" She interrupted excitedly. "I remember you. You were the boy with the green eyes and that scar, weren't you?"

"Yeah."

"And you want Charlie's phone number?"

It took a while for Nevaeh to get Charlie's phone number, but in the end she did. Harry said goodbye, looking down at the piece of paper with Charlie's phone number on it. Exhaling, Harry dialled the number, quietly listening as it rang. Finally the familiar voice of Charlie was on the other end.

"Charlie?" Harry said quietly. "This is Harry. I—huh? Oh, yeah … the one with the crutches." Harry laughed.

"What can I do for yah?" Charlie asked.

"Well, nothing, actually," Harry replied. "But … would you mind having a guest over for a while?"

"Nah! I wouldn't mind at all. Kinda lonely down here, actually," Charlie said. "I'd be honoured to have yah back, Harry. When can I expect you?"

"As soon as possible," Harry replied firmly.

"Well … I must say I'm surprised. Didn't expect yah to be visitin', really. I'mma glad, though. Will yer father be with yah, too?"

"My godfather?" Harry corrected, and after a moments silence, said, "No. Just me."

"Well … great, I guess."

"Yeah," Harry said quietly. "I'll see you soon."

"Yep."

Harry hung up, staring at the phone. Then, he turned away and stared down the hall at Sirius's room. In Sirius's desk drawer was Muggle money, hopefully enough for everything Harry would need to get to Wisconsin.

After glancing at the phone for a second time, Harry went into Sirius's room and gathered all of the money he could find before heading out. To Wisconsin.

Somehow, that was hard to understand. Harry was running away to Wisconsin. He wasn't running away like a little boy would when they were angry. He wasn't going to hide out in a tree house. He was going to _Wisconsin. _

-

"I shouldn't just stay here," Sirius said angrily. "I should _look _for him. Get everything settled out. Help him get over whatever he's going through."

"But he slit his wrists," Allyson pointed out. "You're acting as if it's nothing."

"No I'm not." Sirius looked at Allyson. "I'm definitely not."

"You should send him away or something," Allyson suggested. "To a place where they can straighten the brat out."

Sirius looked at Allyson oddly. "What?"

"You know!" Allyson said angrily. "_Send him away. _He's nothing but trouble, and slitting his wrists?" She shook her head. When she looked up, Sirius was still looking at her. "What?"

"Did you do it?" he asked. "Did you cut Harry's wrists? Did you want to send my godson away?"

Allyson made a noise. "Of course not. Why are you starting to believe what he says?"

"Because he's my godson. I should start believing him."

"You weren't before though," Allyson pointed out. "Were you? You didn't believe Harry at all. Not when he told you that I was up to something, not when he claimed that it wasn't him slitting his wrists."

"How could I not have believed him?" Sirius said quietly, stepping away from Allyson. "He was right about everything. I chose not to believe him."

"You didn't, did you?" Allyson smiled.

Sirius glared at Allyson. "You cut his wrists, didn't you? You wanted to send him away to _boarding school._"

"I did it for us," Allyson said simply. "Don't be mad."

"You're pathetic," Sirius spat. "I don't want to marry you, and _I'm _saying _that _for us."

Allyson watched as he left. Letting out a loud yell, she stomped her foot on the floor. Life wasn't fair.

-

A/N: Sirius isn't stupid anymore and Allyson is now out of the picture. Too bad Harry's on his way to Wisconsin. Oh … well … R and R! Next chapter will be up soon!


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Remus whirled around at the sound of a door being slammed shut. He was surprised to find Sirius standing in the doorway looking desperate and a bit lost.

"Sirius?" Remus said, shrugging his jacket off. "What're you doing here? Is something wrong with Harry?"

"_Yes,_" Sirius said, running his fingers through his hair and looking distraught. "Did he come here by any chance? I mean … Allyson's house isn't that far from here, I thought maybe …"

Remus shook his head. "I just came home. Why don't you check the rooms? I'll see if he called anybody."

Sirius nodded, immediately going to Harry's room. The room was empty and looked like nobody had even stepped in. Then he checked Remus's room, which was empty, and then his own. That room was empty too, but for some reason it looked odd. He went in, noticing that the drawers were wide open, and the Muggle money he had stashed in there was gone.

"Remus?" he called. "Did you use that money I had in the drawers?"

"No—" Remus said, then cut himself off. Sirius went out to the kitchen to see Remus with the phone to his ears. Sirius listened intently as Remus repeated the numbers out loud. Sirius knew it was a phone number, he just didn't know who's.

"I didn't call that number," Remus said as he hung up. "Do you think maybe Harry did?"

Sirius nodded firmly. "If you didn't, then it was most likely Harry. The money from my drawersare gone, too."

Remus glanced down at the phone, picking up a small piece of paper. It had the same phone number that Remus had told Sirius, but at the top had a, 'C.' He showed it to Sirius.

Sirius went over to the phone, picked it up, and dialled the exact numbers on the piece of paper. After a few rings a voice answered with a certain accent that almost seemed familiar … he just couldn't place _why _it was familiar.

"Uh … who is this?" Sirius said tentatively.

"'Who is this?'" the voice repeated. "Well, yeh should know who this is, shouldn't yeh? After all, you called this number. It should be _me _asking who this is. You some type ah person lookin' to sell stuff? Sorry, not interested."

Sirius sighed impatiently. "Did somebody named Harry call? Or … if they left their name or not, I just need to know … it's important, you see—"

"Slow down, slow down," the voice on the other end said. "Yeah, somebody named Harry called. Why? He in trouble? This better not be like last time, I trusted them I did when they said they weren't in no trouble! But if they were, and are again … I ain't goin' get involved in this, I'll tell yah now."

Sirius didn't say anything. That accent, the way this man talked, it suddenly became clear as to who he was.

"Charlie?"

"Yep, that's mah name," Charlie said proudly. "I know yeh?"

"I was the one with Harry at the … time you were talking about," Sirius said. "… Remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," Charlie said. "You were his father, weren't yah?"

"Godfather," Sirius corrected quickly. "Do you know where he's going?"

"'Course," replied Charlie. "He's comin' here!"

Sirius nearly dropped the phone. "What?" he finally managed out. "He's going _there? _To Wisconsin?"

Charlie sounded genuinely surprised. "Yeh didn't know? I thought yeh did!"

"No, no I didn't … er, goodbye Charlie, and thanks."

"Yeah, no problem," Charlie said. "Should I be expectin' yeh too?"

Sirius thought for a minute before answering the man on the other line. "Yes, yes you should."

"Alrightie, then. It's settled. Adeus!" Charlie said, adding, "That's Portuguese for 'Bye' … I think."

"OK, yeah," Sirius said distractedly. "Aloha."

"No, it's—"

But Sirius had hung up, and was looking at Remus.

"He hates me," Sirius said, his voice sounding distant. He went over to the couch and sat down. "My godson hates me. He hates me so much that he's running all the way to Wisconsin. Could I have been anymore thick? Anymore … stupid?"

"I'm sure he doesn't hate you," Remus said, sitting down at the other end. "He's upset. I know I would be."

"You don't know what happened, though," Sirius said, looking at his friend. "_Allyson _happened. Do you—do you know what she did to Harry? She slit his wrists and blamed it on him, and I—I believed her."

Remus didn't say anything.

"I _believed _that Harry actually slit his wrists." Sirius closed his eyes. "Now that I think back to everything that's happened, I feel so horrible. For not believing what Harry said, and how I treated him. Some of the things that I said that I didn't mean."

"You should tell him that," Remus said gently. "Harry probably hasn't gone that far on foot. Take the car and follow him."

"Right," Sirius said, shooting up. "Can you go to Allyson's house and … do a little magic on her?" he asked. "I want her to forget about me telling her that I was a wizard."

"Will do," Remus said. "Oh, here's a bit of money if you need it," he added, fishing around his pocket. Sirius raised his eyebrows.

"You went through my drawers?"

"Huh?"

"You went through my drawers?" Sirius repeated, his eyebrows still up high. Remus gave him a look.

"How else will I survive?"

Sirius returned the look, took the money, and left the house.

-

"Bloody feet," Harry muttered as he ran along the road. "Don't give up now, you've got me this far."

He had went from walking along the road to the airport, to speed walking, to jogging, then to running. He couldn't believe how far he had gotten on his feet—he could spot the airport up ahead.

When he went through the doors, he immediately went to go get his ticket. Soon … soon he would be in Wisconsin. Away from Sirius, and especially away from Allyson.

-

So far, as Sirius drove towards the airport, there was no sign of Harry. Maybe he was fast, Sirius thought. Maybe he was already at the airport, boarding the plane and getting ready to go to Wisconsin.

Sirius felt horrible for the way he had treated Harry. Right then, he swore that once he got to Harry and had him home, he'd never do it again.

-

A/N: Short chapter, but I had to stop there. I just felt like I couldn't continue this chapter any further, so I stopped, but I _will _make up for the late-update-short-chapter. I will post the next chapter _really, really _quickly. Possibly the quickest update you've ever seen! Maybe I'll post it after this one; two chapters in one day! If not, it'll definitely be posted tomorrow.


	16. End

Chapter 16

It took a while for Harry to find Charlie's house again, especially since he was on foot and Charlie didn't pick him up at the airport. But Harry didn't expect for the man to, since neither one suggested it, and Harry didn't mind walking. Well, he did after the sole of his feet started to ache.

Finally, the small, unkempt house came into view, making Harry happy that he'd finally be able to sit down again once inside.

Harry went onto the threshold and knocked, waiting for the man that looked like his house (mostly unkempt and a bit dirty) appeared behind the screen of the door. A cheerful smile crossed both faces, and the door swung open.

The man, Charlie, clamped his hand down on Harry's shoulder hard. "Nice to see yah again, jovem!" Charlie said cheerfully, practically pulling Harry into the house. "Seems like a millennium, eh?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed, thankfully sitting down on the couch next to the kitchen table and chairs. "Thanks again for letting me stay here for a while, Charlie."

"'Course, dunt mind a bit," Charlie said, sipping on something from a steaming mug. "If I may be so bold," he started, "what _are _yeh doin' 'ere?"

"Well …" Harry started. "It's mostly because I'm in an … _argument _with Sirius."

"Ah," Charlie said, nodding his head understandingly. "Yer father. Well, I can't blame yeh, Harry! I used to have disputes with my father too!"

"My godfather," Harry corrected. "But this was a pretty big argument. I can't ever go back there."

Charlie continued nodding. Then he froze, his eyes widening. He opened his mouth, his lips making an O.

"What's wrong?" Harry asked carefully.

"Well, yah see …" Charlie started uncomfortably. "After _you _called, yer _father_—sorry—godfather called a bit after. I didn' know … I told him, yeh were comin' 'ere. He's, uh, pro'lly on his way here righ' now."

Harry's mouth opened. "What? He's coming here? Why would he do that?"

"Pro'lly concerned fer yeh," Charlie replied. "I mean, yeh ran 'way all the way to Wisconsin, eh? I _know _yeh mean a lot to yer godfather, an' he means a lot ter you."

Harry shook his head, trying to clear it. "I can't believe he's coming all the way to Wisconsin to see me … or get me."

Charlie shrugged, finishing the liquid in his mug. "Like I said, he cares fer yah. I'm abou' positive he'd do anythin' fer yah. You want some coffee, there?"

Harry shook his head. "I'm fine. D'you mind if I go to the guestroom to lay down for a while?"

"Be my guest," Charlie said, then chuckled. "Whoops, guess yah already are, ain'tcha?"

Harry grinned thinly, going to the guestroom that was becoming so familiar again. He lay down on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. If Sirius was following Harry, going all the way to Wisconsin, what about Allyson?

-

Harry barely glanced up when he heard somebody enter the room. When the person spoke, Harry shot up, staring.

"Sirius."

His godfathers name didn't come out a question, as Harry thought it might. He knew that Sirius was coming to Wisconsin, but seeing him just made Harry shocked.

Sirius stepped forward. "Hi."

Harry scowled, laying back down. "You come all the way to Wisconsin just to say hi?"

"What do you want me to say?" Sirius asked.

Harry turned his head to look at Sirius, then after a silent staring contest Harry finally shook his head and said, "I don't know. What are you going to say? Where's Allyson?"

Sirius went over to Harry and sat on the edge of the bed. "I am _so _sorry, Harry. I never meant to hurt you like I did. I should've believed you when you said that you didn't trust Allyson or something, but I didn't. And after what she did to you—"

"So you believe me now?" Harry said, glancing at Sirius.

"Of course," Sirius replied with a sigh. "I don't know why I didn't in the first place. Can you forgive me, Harry?"

Harry studied his godfather before he answered. "How can I forgive you, Sirius? After those fights we had and the things we said? After you proposing to Allyson without telling me? After you don't believe me after everything I said?"

Harry stood up, glaring. "After she does _this_—" he held out his wrists where the long, red lines were. "—and you don't believe that she did it and not me? Do you _really _expect me to forgive you?"

Sirius shook his head. "No."

After Harry took a few minutes to calm down, he sat down next to Sirius. "Neither do I," Harry continued softly. "But somehow I do."

"What?"

Harry gave his shoulders a small shrug. "I don't know why, but I do forgive you. Maybe not completely yet, but … I do."

Harry sighed. "And I guess I'm sorry for coming all the way to Wisconsin."

Sirius grinned. "You guess?"

Harry nodded. "I guess. I mean, you're getting married to Allyson and I don't want to be anywhere near her. So I was going to come to Wisconsin … and stay here. Forever, I suppose."

"I was," Sirius corrected, and started to elaborate after Harry's confused look. "I _was _going to marry her. Not anymore."

"You're not?" Harry said, his eyebrows rising in surprise.

Sirius shook his head for confirmation. "Yeah, I'm not. Listen, Harry, I feel _so _horrible for the way I've treated you. I want you to know that I'm always going to be here for you. I love you, Harry."

Harry smiled thinly. "I love you too, Siri. Er … how about we stay here overnight? Then in the morning we'll go back home?"

"Sounds good," Sirius said, standing up. "I'll go see if Charlie has anything we can eat."

-

The next day, after Harry and Sirius's plane had landed, they noticed Remus waiting for them.

"Remus," Sirius greeted once they approached Remus. "Did you … erm … take care of Allyson?"

"Sure did," Remus replied with a nod of his head. "She didn't even know who I was."

Sirius looked relieved. "_Good._" Glancing sideways at Harry, Sirius put a friendly arm around Harry's shoulders. "Let's go home."

-

"SIRIUS!" Harry yelled, his hand resting on the doorknob. Summer vacation had just started a few days ago, which Harry was thankful for. No more schoolwork for a while. Hermione, on the other hand, might be a bit disappointed in that—but he knew he and Ron definitely weren't.

"What?" Harry heard Sirius yell back.

"I need some money," Harry said. "And since you have all of it, can I borrow some?"

Sirius's head peaked out from the kitchen. "Are you going to run away to Wisconsin with that money?" he questioned suspiciously.

"No," Harry replied, giving Sirius a look. "Please? We need groceries, don't we? How else am I suppose to get them?"

"Oh, right," Sirius said as he fished around his pocket. His hand finally surfaced with money in it, and he handed it over to Harry. "Spend it wisely," he cautioned. "Buy a lot of frozen pizzas and chocolate, OK? Especially those frozen pizzas."

"Got it," Harry said. "Deluxe?"

Sirius's brow furrowed in thought. "Um … yeah. With cheese."

"All pizzas come with cheese," Harry pointed out.

"Yeah, but I want one with extra cheese," responded Sirius. "So a deluxe frozen pizza with extra cheese."

"Meaning a deluxe frozen pizza and a block of mozzarella cheese, plus some other stuff …"

Sirius turned his head around as Remus called something out from another room.

"And a few salads, Remus says," Sirius said with a roll of his eyes. His voice lowered. "But only buy one. We don't need all those salads in the house—"

Sirius sighed as Remus called something else out.

"_Fine. _Two salads."

Sirius sighed again.

"_Three!_"

Harry grinned as Sirius threw his hands up in the air.

"Fine! Buy three hundred thousand salads! HAPPY, REMUS?"

"Very!" Came Remus's reply. Sirius spun around, his hands falling down to his sides.

"Great," Sirius muttered. "My soufflé is ruined."

"You're _soufflé?_" Harry repeated, his eyebrows raised. "You tried to _make _something?"

Sirius scowled. "Yes, I did. So? What's the problem with that?"

"Well … you're not exactly the best cook," Harry said gently. "No wonder the soufflé you tried to make is ruined. Why not get Isabella to make one if you really want one? She's a good cook. Whenever we want to make something we usually get her to make it."

Sirius cast a disappointed glance at the soufflé. "It just … deflated."

"Be thankful that you didn't put the house on fire," Harry said as he opened the door. "Or yourself, for that matter."

"Hah," Sirius said sarcastically. "Very funny. You should be a comedian. Don't forget the chocolate, either, Harry!"

"I won't," Harry called on his way out. He shut the door behind him. As he went down the sidewalk, he noticed that there were a bunch of trucks in front of one house. As he went further, he noticed that the house was Allyson's.

Just as he realized that, Allyson came out of the house with a huge box in her arms. Her hair was tied up in a messy ponytail, and she wore jogging pants with a light t-shirt on. Her eyes fell on Harry, and she gave a small smile and a nod of her head.

As Harry continued down the sidewalk, he couldn't help but smile to himself. He had his family back, and the person that had threatened to break up that family was gone. Everything was perfect again.

He whirled around as he heard somebody calling out his name. Sirius came running up, looking out of breath.

Sirius took a few seconds to get his breath back before he spoke. "I … forgot to tell you … to pick up some milk, too."

Harry stared at his godfather. "Milk?"

Sirius nodded, wiping his forehead. "Yeah. Milk. We don't have any left, and … I forgot to tell you. Hey — did you see that Allyson's moving?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah."

He still couldn't believe that Sirius had chased him just to remind him to pick up milk at the grocery store. He returned Sirius's smile as his godfather turned around and ran back.

Yep, Harry confirmed himself as he resumed walking. Everything was good again.

**End.**

**-**

A/N: Thanks so much for sticking with me through this story! I really appreciate all the reviews this story has gotten! Sorry for the late posting, but I finished it last night and got distracted from posting it. So here it is. The last chapter, and I really hoped you enjoyed it.

The Sequel **The Existance of Reality **is now up and running!


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